


the thin wall of pretence (is the barrier between us)

by Alysae



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Identity Porn, M/M, Oblivious Steve Rogers, Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Tony Stark Has Issues, set during Iron Man 2 and goes on to The Avengers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-04
Updated: 2018-05-04
Packaged: 2019-05-02 05:15:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 21,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14537454
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alysae/pseuds/Alysae
Summary: Steve Rogers is found four months earlier. Once awake, he spends three months wallowing in his misery and missing his time and friends. Until Phil Coulson decides to take matters into his own hands and sends him away as Tony Stark's new coach under the careful watch of Black Widow as she infiltrates Stark Industries. After all, who better than Tony Stark to introduce a man out of his time to the new century?





	the thin wall of pretence (is the barrier between us)

“So, you’re─ what, Agent Coulson’s protégé?” Tony Stark asked nonchalantly from the door.

Steve turned around, caught in the middle of searching the hand tape in his bag. He’d already taken his water bottle and towel out, placing them neatly next to his bag on the bench.

Stark was standing at the threshold, leaning against the doorframe of the room. Steve stared a little at his working out clothes. He was wearing baggy sweatpants and sneakers, which was normal, but instead of a loose shirt or fit tank top, he was wearing what looked various layers of clothing─ there was a white shirt peeking out of a dark sweatshirt, the hood pulled up, plastering his hair against his forehead and casting his face in shadows.

Sure, when Steve got the job, he had researched Tony Stark─ all kinds of information that SHIELD deemed necessary, their files on him, and researched some pictures so he wouldn’t think he was hallucinating Howard out of nowhere, older and with way more facial hair. So he had looked at Tony Stark’s pictures on the Internet (and what a great thing that was), and he knew about Stark’s questionable fashion choices. But he never expected Stark to choose  _that_ over something more practical when they were about to _spar_.

“I wouldn’t call myself a protégé,” Steve finally answered, finding his tape and slowly wrapping it around his fist.

He was aware of Stark’s eyes on him, gauging his actions and undoubtedly examining something. Steve had been warned about Stark’s incredibly sharp and intelligent mind (as much as he’d been warned about Stark sharp and sarcastic tongue).

Stark approached the bench and tossed his own bag on top of it, opening and rummaging. “Pepper said that Agent came to her asking─more like begging─to offer you a job as my trainer. How do you not consider that as being his protégé? I only met Agent a few times and I’ve never seen the guy smile, even less  _begging_. Then again, I’m not really a guy one would smile at, really, so maybe he does smile frequently to other people. I wouldn’t know.”

“Agent Coulson smiles just fine,” Steve replied. Or, at least, he smiled just fine at Steve. He didn’t really want to think about how Phil asked him to sign his trading cards and ‘casually’ informed him that he’d watched him while Steve was frozen.

“Huh. Really? Doesn’t really have laughing lines, is all. But I guess many people who  _do_ have laughing lines are complete utter fuckers so I guess that was an irrelevant argument to begin with.” He paused for a second before continuing. “So, why would SHIELD want to send one of their agents to SI as my personal trainer? Not that I’m complaining,” he added, smile terse, “but you kind of forced me to kick Happy out of the job. He liked it. Made him feel good. I guess that had more to do about punching me than the actual job, but yeah, he liked it.”

“I’m sorry,” Steve said, feeling a little out his depth. He hadn’t been warned about the onslaught of words that literally tumbled out of Stark’s mouth. “I hadn’t meant to bother. It wasn’t really my idea, either,” he mumbled a little disgruntled before offering a tiny, hesitant smile. “I’m not here on a mission, if that’s what you’re wondering. Not doing espionage either. Really, I… SHIELD wouldn’t let me go on the field and tried to find something for me to do so I wouldn’t just mop around.”

(He didn’t mention that Natasha was definitely here on an espionage mission, or that he was under her watchful eye if he ever messed up by, you know, saying something that would give his super secret identity away.)

Stark still looked dubious, but finally looked away. He took out of his bag a bottle filled with dark greenish liquid that looked extremely disgusting, a white towel, and two red gloves. “So whatever you hear or see won’t be reported to Fury?” Stark asked suspiciously.

“I’m not obligated to, no. I am only here as your coach, not a SHIELD agent. Besides, I did sign a contract with SI.”

“I know that,” Stark said. He looked around the gym. “You like it?”

Steve was glad for the change of subject. “Yes, it’s very spacious.” And it was, to the point that it made Steve a little uncomfortable. Definitely larger than SHIELD’s training room, as well as more equipped. “I hadn’t known you had your own gym at your, uh… mansion.”

Stark gave him a cheeky grin. “I’m a man of many surprises, Hank. Kant? Dant? Wait, wait, I got it─ Brant?”

“Grant.”

“I was getting there,” Stark nodded mock-solemnly. Then he flashed Steve with a wide smirk. “I guess I don’t need to introduce myself?”

Steve raised a pointed brow. “You are my employer. Of course you don’t.”

That made Stark pause a little, levelling Steve with an indecipherable look. Then he snorted and made his way to the ring platform. Steve followed him, making sure his hand wraps were tight and firm. They ducked under the ropes and took their position. Steve adopted a fighting stance, all tense muscles and fists raised, while Stark looked at him with slightly interested but otherwise bored eyes.

Steve noted that─  _no fighting stance, muscles drawn up, slightly tense but not so much, alert but disinterested, looking relaxed but only as a farce._

“Let’s see what you can do,” Steve said, and then his fist punched the air where Stark’s head was a second ago.

_Good reflexes─_

Stark then raised a fist of his own to reiterate, but Steve ducked out of the way. He needn’t use his super reflexes or speed.

 _Slow when attacking_ ─

Steve used his elbow and hit the man on his side. Stark let out a strangled “ _oof_ ” and skipped against the ropes, looking a little surprised.

He blinked a few times. “Okay. Better than Happy, then,” Stark said, more to himself. And he attacked again, leg flying high and aiming for Steve’s chest.

Steve blocked the blow with his forearms and pushed Stark back, using this leverage and throwing the man on his back onto the mat. With one firm grip on Stark’s thigh and another on his stomach, he pinned the man down.

“Jeez,” Stark breathed shakily. “You’re  _way_ better than Happy, all right. What are you, a trained assassin? Do they have those at SHIELD? I bet they do.”

“They do,” Steve shared with a little of amusement seeping into his voice. “But I’m not one of them.”

“Figures.” He looked up at Steve. “You know, not that I don’t like to be pinned down and all, but you kind of have a strong grip and I’d like to be able to feel my thigh when I get up.”

Steve let go quickly and scrambled up, smiling sheepishly. “Sorry.”

Stark shook his head. “Oh no, by all means, pin me down whenever.” He ducked under the ropes and walked over to the bench, picking up his bottle and taking large gulps of whatever it was filled with. He must have noticed Steve’s disgusted wince, because he gave him a sharp smile. “Don’t fret, Stevens. This is healthy.”

“What does healthy entail to you?”

“What does healthy entail to  _you_?” Stark shot back, grin widening. He massaged his side and looked more closely at Steve, eyeing him up and down with an interested look. “Hm, probably not Wendy’s or Burger King, uh?”

_Who the heck was Wendy and why was there a burger king?_

Questions he chose to keep to himself and google the answers later (truly, the Internet was  _amazing_ ). Instead of making a fool of himself, he just raised a brow, which could say so many different things and be interpreted in so many different ways.

Stark sighed and placed his bottle back on the bench. “Protein shakes and whatever else gives you those bulging muscles, I bet,” he finally said, eyeing appreciatively said muscles.

Steve could feel the blush creeping slowly up at such blatant ogling, but he had been warned, so it shouldn’t be a surprise.

“Could we please concentrate, Mr Stark?” he said, and bit down the sarcastic ‘ _eyes up here, mister_ ’ that wanted to leave his mouth.

The response was brief, and had Steve not had his super-enhanced  _everything_ , he might not have seen it. Stark pulled a face, disgruntled, then resigned, before settling with a fake cheerful one. “Call me Tony. Everyone does. Well, no, most call me Stark, which is also okay, but since we’ll be, ah, getting pretty  _close_ to each other in the foreseeable future, that’d be weird.”

Steve could see the logic behind that. “All right, Tony. Then call me, uh, Grant.”

“All right, uh-Grant, let’s get back to work,” he replied with a wicked grin, showing a perfect row of teeth. He ducked under the rope and was back onto the mat, body seeming relaxed but truly on the alert.

Steve sighed internally. He deserved that one, really. He needed to get used to being called by Grant now.

***

When he woke up in a different time and actually realised it (two minutes after opening his eyes), he had been disoriented, as anyone who went through the same experience ought to be.

The world changed a lot─everything and everyone he knew disappeared.

He didn’t know anything about this century yet. He woke up around four months ago into a new world. Not everything changed, but most of the things. What used to be his place was demolished and was now a preschool with children wearing bright colours and shouting happily. Masses weren’t in Latin anymore. A lot more people walking on the streets. An enormous amount of junk food restaurants than Steve really cared about.

(Tony loved them, though. It turned out that there actually wasn’t a burger king or a hut full of pizzas, or that the pizza wasn’t actually made of dominoes, and Wendy’s was a place and not a person. Tony loved all kinds of junk food, but he seemed to prefer pizza as it was “fast, delicious and nutritive. Really, Grant, it’s healthy. Shut up, Grant. Why are you  _laughing_?!” But really, Tony wasn’t a kind of picky guy with his food─ anything that made his body function worked well enough for him.)

 _Technology_. Technology changed  _so much_. Steve had been amazed with S.S.R. incredibly revolutionary technology─ it was pretty advanced for the times, then, and he had thought the future would be filled with that kind of machines. But the future is much,  _much_   _more_. One could go outside and walk around with a telephone, and it’d still work perfectly. Most households had television─ and not the small box thing, either. They’re big and slim and coloured. Cars were faster and louder and flashier.

(Tony’s cars─ _plural_!─were even faster and louder and flashier than the ones he got used to see from his apartment window. Sometimes Tony would walk off of a session and drive off on one of his cars, leaving a trail of smoke and loud ringing in his wake. Steve didn’t think he’d ever get used to seeing a new car each day in the mansion’s entry.)

And Internet. He’d be forever grateful for the Internet, which saved him on many occasions of making a fool of himself in front of others. It saved him the shame of asking something that could be inappropriate to someone else. When he learnt the existence of Urban Dictionary, he had mentally thanked whoever created it repeatedly. When he didn’t understand a word, he could count on the Internet to inform him not only  _when_ it was created, but also  _why_ and  _how_.

But really, out of everything modern, Tony’s mansion never seized to amaze him. He hadn’t really expected that the mansion would have a gym, to begin with, and that Steve would have to go there every so often per week to train with its owner. He’d thought that they would either find a suitable public gym (which, now thinking better on it, it was a little foolish) or a private gym in a Stark Tower.

The mansion lacked of a personal touch, in Steve’s opinion. There were no photographs, no paintings, not even a small sheet of paper out of place. Everything was elegant, modern, and simple. Simple in a very extravagant, rich way that Steve was most definitely not used to walk into. Everytime he stepped inside the mansion, he had the irresistible need to take off his shoes, even if they weren’t dirty.

Whatever was personal in this mansion was locked away in what Steve thought was the basement. Whenever Steve came for their training session, he would wait in the spacious living room until Tony peeked his head from the stairs that led down to somewhere. He always wore his hoodie, so Steve guessed it was pretty cold down there.

(He later on discovered that Tony spent most of his time in his workshop downstairs. It was where “all the magic happened” and that maybe one day Tony would show it to Steve. Or at least that was what Tony said after seeing Steve’s amazed and slightly disturbed and disbelieving look when Tony described it and his ‘helper-bots’, whatever those were.)

Steve learnt pretty quickly that most of the things that Tony possessed were made by himself and the large public didn’t have access to something remotely similar.

Like JARVIS.

The first time Steve went to the mansion, he hadn’t heard anything about JARVIS. Pepper Potts, Phil’s friend and his real employer─since  _she_ was the CEO─, had guided him through the house right into the gym and left him there saying that she would send Mr Stark on his way. The second time he went to the mansion, it was another whole story.

Steve had just entered, access mysteriously granted to him even before he knocked or said a word. Steve had been thinking about talking to Tony about his poor security─he was there to train Tony to protect himself, after all─when a distinct British voice trailed off from somewhere, not really echoing, but definitely coming from  _everywhere_. Steve had immediately tensed and had looked around cautiously, but there had been no one. And then the voice talked  _again_ and Steve thought he had been losing his mind or something of the like, until Tony came upstairs and explained everything, eyes shining with tears from all his laughing at Steve’s  _hilarious_ face.

JARVIS was an Artificial Intelligence. All right then. That existed in the future. Okay.

There was no better way to get acquainted with the future than to befriend Tony Stark, who was exaggeratedly horrified by Steve’s 2000s flip phone when they exchanged numbers.

To be honest, Steve had thought that it would’ve been complicated to interact with Tony at first─what with all the things he heard about him and, well, their obvious different personalities and different times. But it was relatively easy to befriend him. Tony was a lot to deal with, something that Steve had been expecting. He hadn’t been expecting, however, to start question every so often about Tony’s health, because sometimes Tony would look like a walking zombie with that disgustingly-looking juice he was always drinking in hand.

Tony was quite extreme, sleep-deprived, and definitely caffeine addicted, which made his movements so fast it was a little dizzying.

Intense was definitely the right word.

He had tried to keep their interactions strictly professional (because Steve was a very professional guy, right?), but that resolution crumbled when, at some point, Tony had stopped being Stark and became Tony in his own head.

But, well, it  _was_ Tony who had asked for that familiarity, so what could he do, right?

***

It was at the end of the second week that Steve finally saw Tony’s workshop.

Just as Steve entered the mansion and noticed that Tony wasn’t in the living room waiting for him, JARVIS’ voice trailed from invisible speakers.

“Good morning, Agent Stevens. Sir has been informed of your arrival, however, he is currently too busy with a project to come to your training session.”

Steve blinked, looking up instinctively. Well, that was a first. Usually, Tony always made time for him─or maybe he just tried to finish whatever he was doing before Steve’s arrival.

“Sir has granted access to his workshop if you so wish to join him,” JARVIS continued with his smooth British accent.

Steve blinked some more, surprised. That was  _weird_. He had been informed that few people ever entered that room, the only ones being those close to Tony.  _Well_ , Steve thought,  _don’t look a gift horse in the mouth_.

He walked down the stairs cautiously. The glass doors opened automatically for him, without him needing any code. The place was… something that Steve definitely was not expecting. It looked exactly something straight out of those science-fiction books he had read as a sickly kid. There were blue lights everywhere, holograms and screens. One part of the workshop was in the dark, and the other part was lightened, showing off many cars, modern and antiques (Steve’s eyes looked over those with an appreciative eye).

As he approached, he noticed Tony’s legs. The upper side of his body was under a slightly suspended slick grey Audi car.

Steve raised a brow. “And what exactly are you doing?”

The body under the car jerked and Steve had the satisfaction to hear a  _bam!_ and Tony’s whimper as he hit the underside of the car.

“ _Fuck_ , Grant, a warning would be much appreciated next time,” Tony said as he pushed himself out. His shirt clung to his chest with sweat and his hair was plastered to his forehead from both perspiration and what looked like engine oil. “And as to answer your question, I’m obviously attempting to make my car fly so I can catch up with the Hogwarts train,” he said, voice dry as he rolled his eyes.

Steve pursed his lips, recognising another reference that he didn’t know. It wasn’t the first time─far from it─that Tony referenced movies and books and even games. He should feel used to the feeling of being inept to get anything. Tony had already made some remarks about how  _weird_ Steve was for not knowing  _Lord of the Rings_ or  _Fast and Furious_ , whatever  _those_ were.

(Logically, he knew they were movies, but as of now he never found the interest to watch them, no matter how much Tony insisted.)

“No  _way_. Grant, I’ve been very indulgent with you, really. But  _this_? How come you don’t know  _Harry Potter_?!  _Everyone_ knows  _Harry Potter_!” Tony said, looking scandalised at the mere idea. “That’s an insult not only to my person, but also to the world.”

Steve looked at him, uncomfortable. Sure, Tony always acted exaggeratedly, and this was certainly not the first time he asked what Steve had been doing for the past hundred years (to which Steve had playfully answered that he had been frozen in time), but this time he truly looked as he told.

“Well,” Steve said, crossing his arms over his chest (and  _wow_ , Tony must really feel scandalised since he didn’t even look at Steve’s biceps like he usually did), “what exactly do you want me to do about that?”

Steve’s excuse to his ignorance was that he hadn’t had the time nor the interest to catch up with what was currently popular (to which Tony had rolled his eyes with exasperation). Let Tony deduce what he wants, let him believe whatever he wants, as long as it wasn’t the truth.

“I let you come here so you would have something to do instead of waiting maybe hours for me to finish this baby up,” he slapped the hood of his car. “But  _this_ changes everything.”

“Does it?”

“ _Yes_ ,” he replied vehemently. “I can’t let you out of this room without knowing what and who Harry Potter is, doll. You sit your cute butt in there,” he pointed at the couch in front of a large TV, “and JARVIS will play you the first movie.”

“Are you serious?” Steve could feel a little incredulity seep into his tone.

“Very much so! Or do you have better things to do?” he asked, knowing perfectly that  _no_ , Steve definitely didn’t have anything better to do because SHIELD wouldn’t let him. “Thought so,” he said when there was no answer. “Look, I’ll be right here if you have any questions or whatever. There’s also JARVIS─ you know what, just talk to JARVIS. I’ll be too out of here to even hear you. C’mon, sit down, sit down.”

When Steve sat down, the TV automatically turned on and a magical music filled the workshop. Tony nodded and walked off to his car, humming to the music.

Later, when Steve was starting the second movie with a kind of enthusiasm he hadn’t expected ( _the art─ the special effects─_ ), Tony abandoned his pet project after what had sounded like a small explosion (“No grey Audi to Monaco, then,” he heard him say) and joined him on the couch, one arm over its back as to lean against Steve. Steve couldn’t find it in himself to care, really. He was thinking that maybe he should give it a shot to  _Lord of the Rings_ if Tony was okay in showing it to him.

It was only at the end of the day, after an afternoon watching a marathon of Harry Potter and eating pizza, when he was leaving the workshop to go back to his Los Angeles apartment, that he actually noticed the Iron Man armours in glass cases, showing them off. He left the mansion wondering for the first time if he’ll ever meet Iron Man while he was there.

***

It became a thing, after that first time.

Steve would come to the mansion, and whenever Tony was busy in his workshop, he’d go down there and watch whichever movie Tony had deemed worthy of watching. So Steve spent his time watching movies with Tony in the background working on whatever it was he was working at that moment, muttering to himself and tinkering.

They would still spar for a couple hours when Tony finished, and then they would go right back to watching movies and eating unhealthy food (Tony’s favourite).

It was during one of their sparring sessions that Steve saw Natasha for the first time after being assigned as Tony’s personal trainer and her as Pepper Potts’ personal assistant.

“Fuck─ stop, stop!” Tony said, hitting the mat repeatedly with his palm.

Steve let go of him, small smirk in place. He straightened his rumpled shirt and walked over to the two bottles, throwing one to Tony, who was still lying on the floor. Tony tried to catch it, but his arm barely responded to his command, and the bottle hit him in the chest. He gave a soft whimper.

“I’m dead. This is it. My end. At the hands of a devilishly handsome and incredibly muscled man. I knew it.”

Steve snorted. “You’re hardly dead.”

“My legs aren’t working, Grant. Nothing’s working.”

The blonde snorted again and approached him, gulping down half the bottle. “Need a hand to get up?” he offered.

Tony groaned as Steve helped him up. He actually wobbled once he was on his feet. “Jeez, you gotta be gentle with me, Grantinator. I don’t think I’ll be able to walk for a _week_.”

“I’m sure you’ll manage,” Steve said, rolling his eyes.

Everything that came out of Tony’s mouth was innuendoes after innuendoes. It had been embarrassing at first, and maybe that was why Tony continued─just to see Steve flush from his neck to the tip of his ears, like he did when they first met and Tony had leered at him. But as they became more acquainted with each other, Steve just got used to it and maybe it kind of became second nature to Tony.

(Then again, Tony flirted with everybody even if he didn’t actually mean anything by it.)

Steve turned when he heard two pairs of heels coming their way outside the door. Tony didn’t seem to have heard them as he was still grumbling about how sore and sweaty he was─”and not the nice kind of sore and sweaty”─so Steve looked away as not to give up his super hearing.

Seconds later, Pepper and Natasha walked in. Pepper looked tense and was giving Tony a death glare. Natasha followed her, a small smirk in place as her eyes met Steve’s.

“I can’t believe you’re not ready to go! We leave in a few minutes, Tony!”

Tony groaned, falling on the bench. “What now?”

Pepper crossed her arms over her chest. “The Monaco Grand Prix? Ring a bell?”

Tony instantly perked up, lifting his head. “Oh! Completely forgot! Sorry Grant-o, darling, gotta go!”

Steve shook his head in exasperation. “You should have cancelled this session if you were busy, Tony.” He turned toward Pepper. “I’m sorry for being a bother, Miss Potts.”

Her gaze softened on him. “Not your fault, Mr Stevens. Really,” her eyes hardened when they fell back on Tony, “if anyone’s at fault, it’s  _Tony_.”

Said man slowly stood up, rubbing his back and flexing his sore muscles. “C’mon, Pep, you know me. Can’t leave a beauty on hold,” he said, winking in Steve’s direction.

Pepper walked up to him and grabbed his bicep tightly, forcing him to walk out of the room while Tony hissed from the pain.

Natasha stayed behind and gave Steve a sideways glance. “How are you doing?”

Steve shrugged casually, drinking a little more. He wasn’t really exhausted, but the water tasted wonderfully right now. “Okay. It’s an easy job, despite what Fury said.”

“Fury didn’t say that the job was hard. He said that _dealing with Stark_ was hard.”

“He’s great. He’s helping me with my pop culture, as he called it.” He turned to her and stubbornly ignored her knowing smirk. “How are  _you_ doing, though? As a PA? Difficult?”

“Nothing I can’t manage.” Steve wondered what she  _couldn’t_ manage. “I’m going to Monaco with Potts and Stark. You’re probably going to be sent back to HQ in New York,” she said quietly.

Steve hadn’t been to HQ since Phil found him this job, and he hadn’t really put his feet in New York City since then. SHIELD had given him a small but cosy apartment in LA, a few blocks away from Natasha’s. It would be weird to go back, but not really unwelcome either.

“It’s okay. Have fun.”

“With Stark around? Always,” she said, and she actually sounded sincere.

Steve chuckled as she left.

***

“That was very foolish,” was the first thing he said to Tony once he was back from Monaco.

Tony groaned. “Not you  _too_! Pepper’s been nagging me all over with it, okay? I don’t need you to do the same thing. Besides, it’s not like I could have predicted that a Russian madman would attack me with electric whips.”

Steve crossed his arms. “I wasn’t talking about that part, which, by the way, you were pretty lucky Iron Man appeared out of nowhere to save your arse. I was talking about the part where you go and foolishly participate in a deadly car race.”

“Nah, that was the fun part,” Tony said as he left his towel next to his bottle filled with that dark liquid. “Did you ever drive a racing car? Best experience one should have before dying.”

“I did, actually. Well, I didn’t  _drive_ it, but─”

“So you can’t actually know the  _thrill_. Can’t judge me until you try─ hey, you should drive one of my cars one of these days. They’re precious and priceless, obviously, but you strike me as a guy who takes good care of things,” he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

They walked to the raised platform, ducked under the ropes and faced each other. Steve, muscles drawn, took a fighting position, fists up. Tony, as usual, looked completely relaxed.

“Surprised that you think that,” he said, before striking.

Tony ducked out of the way before going for a punch that Steve easily blocked, this time managing to hit Tony on his side.

“Oof!”

Tony hit his back against the ropes and Steve waited until he steadied himself before taking a step forward and striking again. Tony ducked again and went for a hit on Steve’s side, trying to reciprocate the previous hit. Steve sidestepped it and punched Tony on the face. This time, he fell on the mat.

“Dammit, not the face,” he groaned.

Steve raised a single brow. “I told you to use a head guard.”

“And look as ridiculous as Happy looked? No thank you. Besides,  _you_ aren’t wearing one.”

Once Tony was back on his feet, they went off again, striking blows and hitting. Tony went for Steve’s side again, but Steve ducked and hit him in the chest. Tony choked and hit his back against the ropes again, clutching at his chest.

Steve frowned a little─ he hadn’t hit so hard… at least he thought he hadn’t. “That’s because I don’t  _need_ one, unlike you. I’m experienced.”

Tony gasped a laugh, rubbing his chest gingerly. “Experienced? I’ve got lots of experience, Grant,” he said, voice breathy and rough at the same time. Despite his flirtatious words, his eyes were scrunched in pain.

“Are you all right?” Steve asked, approaching. He was about to put his hand on Tony’s shoulder to steady him, but his hand was slapped away.

“I’m fine,” Tony snapped suddenly, before wincing. Steve tried to hide the hurt from his eyes, but Tony seemed to have caught it. “Fuck, sorry, I didn’t mean─” He took a deep breath. “How about a break, uh? Maybe lunch?”

Steve crossed his arms over his chest and tried to not feel too flattered by the way Tony’s eyes followed the movement. “It’s been barely fifteen minutes, Tony. As your coach, I have to inform you that you’ve been getting worse and worse.”

Tony winced. “Yeah, okay, maybe.”

“You’re endurance is weakening─”

“I know─”

“─It looks like you’re developing asthma.”

Pause.

“What?” Tony asked, perplexed.

“Your symptoms. Out of breath, chest pain, trouble sleeping─” he was listing off the symptoms with his fingers.

“How’d you know about the sleeping?”

Steve rolled his eyes. “I’m not blind, Tony. You look like shit─”

“My feelings are hurt, Granty.  _Hurt_!”

“You look like you haven’t slept for three days, and I can hear you wheezing from here.”

It was Tony’s time to cross his arms. He seemed to be breathing better now, at least. “I don’t have asthma. Never had, never will. Though, maybe I haven’t been sleeping… maybe I need a little help with that,” he added with half-lidded eyes.

Okay, so, maybe there were times that Steve was a little affected by what Tony said. Like, right now, where he could feel his cheeks getting hotter and the tip of his ears burning. He tried to push the instinctive blush down in vain. “I’m serious.”

“So am I,” Tony said, voice low and taking a step forward.

Steve had a little trouble breathing. He couldn’t really say that Tony didn’t faze him─ “ _Tony_ ,” he said sternly.

Tony took that as an invitation to take another step. “Love it when you say my name.”

He was too close now, his hands moving to Steve’s shoulders, and he was on his tiptoes, face approaching─

Natasha cleared her throat from the doorway. Steve jumped a step back.

Tony turned around with an annoyed face. “Sweetheart, if you’re so jealous to the point of cockblocking, you should’ve said so from the beginning.”

It wasn’t really difficult to guess what that word meant.

Natasha gave him a tight-lipped smile and Steve feared for Tony’s life. “I apologise for interrupting,” she said, not looking sorry at all, “but Miss Potts gave me the task of organising your birthday party.”

That seemed to floor him, as Tony took a step back and his face closed. “Yeah, okay, coming.”

“It’s your birthday?” Steve asked, surprised. Sure, he read Tony’s file, but he hadn’t really thought he would have cared for Tony’s birthday to actually memorise the date. He couldn’t help feeling a little hurt that Tony hadn’t told him.

“Yup. Having a birthday party at the house later tonight.”

“Oh. Well, happy birthday, Tony.”

Tony wasn’t looking at him, massaging his chest. “Thanks.”

He walked over to his bottle of disgustingly looking liquid and took a gulp of it. He grabbed his towel and placed it over his head, obscuring his features. “Guess it’s over,” he said in Steve’s direction, still not meeting his eyes, and then followed Natasha out of the room.

Somehow, Steve felt a foreboding feeling creeping up his back and leaving him utterly confused and alarmed.

***

Steve looked back at his phone screen as he walked inside, the sound of music blaring and people laughing.

_hey come to rthe mparty asap plgease i nede you right nwo here_

He didn’t know if he should laugh or worry about it. Well, he certainly felt concerned, because it seemed like Tony was already drunk, and he knew that the party only started fifteen minutes ago.

It took him around ten minutes to come, and when he noticed Tony dancing drunkenly next to the DJ, he knew it was ten minutes too long. Tony was utterly  _smashed_ now.

“Grant!”

It took him a second to recognise the voice and where it came from. He turned around just in time to see Pepper approaching him. She looked even more tired than he was used to. He smiled sheepishly.

“Hey, sorry to appear unannounced─”

“No, no, thank god you’re here,” she said as she approached.

Steve noticed the gift box she had in her hands and felt instantly guilty. “I… I didn’t bring anything.”

“Doesn’t matter,” she said, a touch too bitterly. “He doesn’t care for the presents. All he cares about right now are the people surrounding him and showing off Iron Man’s armour.”

Steve blinked. “Iron Man’s here?” He had never met him before yet, which was a little strange since he spent most of his time with Tony.

Pepper looked like she swallowed a lemon. “No, he isn’t. Tony’s just showing off the tech. Rhodey already tried to calm him down─ unsuccessfully.”

Steve noticed Rhodey approaching them. “You’re going to try?” he asked Pepper once he was next to her.

Pepper hesitated. “I guess…” Then she looked at Steve. “Were you invited? I thought Tony hadn’t…” she trailed off.

“I wasn’t, no,” he answered, trying to quell down the bitter feeling. “He sent me a drunk text asking me to come.”

Rhodey snorted. “I can’t believe you actually came,” he said, shaking his head. “You shouldn’t have. He’s a mess.” He turned to Pepper. “Look, if you try and it doesn’t work, I’m using more extreme ways.”

Pepper nodded. “Let’s hope it doesn’t go that far.”

On the other side of the room, Tony had a gauntlet of the suit and was aiming it at whatever the crowd in front of him threw in the air. Steve couldn’t see what was powering the gauntlet, though.

“He’s being so damn reckless,” Rhodey hissed.

“Do you want me to try?” Steve asked out of nowhere, surprising even himself.

Pepper raised her eyebrows, startled. “You don’t have to, Grant.”

“I know. But I could always manhandle him out of the room if he doesn’t listen.”

Rhodey snorted. “He’d just get off on that,” he mumbled, but Steve heard him perfectly and could already feel the blush coming.

“Thank you,” Pepper said gratefully. “I’m going to get some air.”

Steve nodded and started making his way to Tony’s side. The crowd was cheering animatedly and the music was so loud he could barely hear anything. The blasts from the gauntlet propulsors blinded him momentarily as he got nearer. In the crowd, Steve noticed Natasha and their eyes met. She was smirking, and Steve had a feeling that she was somehow the cause of Tony being a mess.

Once he was next to Tony, he grabbed his shoulder and pushed him slightly away from the crowd. “Tony, you need to stop this right now,” he whispered.

Tony turned around and beamed at him. From this close, Steve could smell the alcohol from Tony’s breath. “Grant! You came! I didn’t think─ Natalie said to have the best night─ So you had to come, of course.”

Steve gave him a tense smile and snatched the microphone from Tony’s hand. “Party’s over,” he announced. Everyone groaned and complained, Tony being the first one in the line. “I said,” a little more forcibly, “Party’s over.” He grabbed Tony’s arm and aimed it at the column speakers. It exploded. Tony blinked.

People started to walk away, grumbling. Tony was swaying on his feet and Steve held him more firmly.

“That─ that wasn’t how I imagined this going,” Tony was saying. “I told you to come to have─ to have a good time. Fun! Why’d you have to ruin my fun?” He let his head fall onto Steve’s shoulder, still mumbling incoherently.

Pepper and Rhodey approached him, the latter looking impressed.

“That was some talking,” he said.

Steve smiled sheepishly. “Sorry, it didn’t look like he was going to listen to either way.”

“And you were right,” Pepper said, glaring at Tony.

Tony didn’t even seem to notice them, his face moving slightly. Steve felt himself shiver as Tony’s mouth moved deliberately against his neck. His grip tightened.

“Someone should get him to bed,” Steve informed with a strained voice.

“I’ll show you my bed!” Tony suddenly exclaimed, whipping his head up and tugging at his arm. Steve didn’t budge. “Aw, c’mon! You can tuck me into bed! I promise I’ll behave.” His gaze said another thing completely.

“I guess that’s the only way he’ll go willingly,” Steve said.

Pepper was shaking her head, exasperation all over. “You don’t have to,” she repeated.

“It’s okay.” He looked over at Natasha, who was observing from the other side of the room. He gave her an annoyed look before letting himself be led out of the living room and upstairs.

“We could have fun,” Tony was saying.

“You said you’d behave.”

Tony fumbled with the doorknob and Steve opened the door for him. It was a spacious bedroom, something that he already expected. There is a certain bareness to it. The white floor, the gigantic window showing the nearly dark sky and agitated sea (with a clock informing them of the wee hours they were still awake. Was it some kind of hologram?), a lack of pictures and paintings… It looked like it was all just made for show and that Tony didn’t spend much time up here.

(Tony always seems to have incredible dark circles under his eyes, so it is no surprise that he wouldn’t sleep here.)

“I know, I know, but wouldn’t it be great to have a little fun before dying─” he stopped himself, eyes wide and blinking at the bed as if his mind had blanked.

“That’s sweet of you, Tony, but I’m sure you can have some fun time when sober,” Steve drawled, forcing Tony to sit on the bed and carefully taking the gauntlet out of his arm.

Steve wished he was more knowledgeable about mechanics so he could truly appreciate it─as it was, he was appreciating it with an artist's eye, admiring the details and colours.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that this drunken mess was the creator of such a beautiful thing.

“Right,” Tony said, and Steve looked up at his tone. It looked like he had suddenly sobered up as if someone had thrown icy water on him.

“You okay?” Steve asked softly, placing the gauntlet on the nightstand.

Tony nodded, blinked, and drummed his finger against his thigh. “Yup, couldn’t feel better.”

Steve started unbuttoning Tony’s dress shirt─it was damp with what looked like a mix of sweat, alcohol and some kind of fruit.

But before he could even touch the button, Tony flinched away and looked up at him with wide eyes. “What’re you doing?”

“Tucking you into bed?”

“I sleep with my shirt on.”

Steve frowned. “Tony, you can’t sleep in  _that_.”

“It’s a nice shirt,” Tony said defensively.

“It’s covered in god knows what!”

“Still a nice shirt,” he pointed out. At Steve’s huff, Tony continued. “How ‘bout you go get me another nice shirt and I put it on on my own? I don’t need your help with that.”

“And here I thought you wanted me to take your clothes off,” Steve said, acerbic.

Tony looked like a deer caught in the headlights. “I sleep with my shirt on,” he repeated numbly.

Steve shook his head. No point in arguing with him when he was drunk. “All right, I’ll get you a clean shirt.”

He rummaged through the wardrobe—most of Tony’s shirt were either dress shirts, band shirts, or tank tops. Steve grabbed one of the band shirts, thinking that it was probably more comfortable (not thinking about how handsome Tony would look in this tight shirt, nope), and gave it to Tony.

Tony stared at it for a few seconds before slowly standing up, walking towards the bathroom in wobbly legs. Steve couldn’t help raising a brow at that—he’d thought Tony would have eagerly undressed in front of him as some kind of seduction game.

From outside, he heard something that eerily sounded like the repulsors of Iron Man, but Pepper did say he hadn’t come, so…? But he didn’t have enough time to think about it as the door to the bathroom opened again.

When Tony came back, he looked invigorated. He trotted to the bed and lied down, bucking his hips up and looking at Steve with a sultry look. “Wanna take my trousers off, too?”

Steve repressed a blush and looked to see if the trousers were as dirty as the shirt had been. He shook his head. “No, you look ready for bed.”

Tony sighted and pouted, finally crawling over to the single pillow on the double bed. He dropped on his stomach like a dead weight, turning his head to the side to look at Steve through sleepy eyes.

Steve smiled slightly and approached, drawing the bedspread over Tony.

“You really don’t want to join me?” Tony mumbled.

Steve froze and looked at him. It was hard to see anything in the darkness of the room, but Tony’s voice sounded small and vulnerable. Steve hesitated. “You’re inebriated, Tony, you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“I know exactly what I’m doing,” Tony informed seriously.

“I really doubt that,” Steve said, looking at him shrewdly.

Tony huffed, turning his face into his pillow. “What do I have to do?” Tony asked, voice muffled but Steve could hear him still. Tony looked back at him. “I always flirt with you  _sober_ , and you never get the hint. What do I have to do for you to get it?” His voice was whiny and definitely slurred, but his words rang true.

Steve felt his blush rising and looked away. He got the hint all right—but it wasn’t like he could act on it, right? Everything that Tony knew about him was a lie, so Steve didn’t really feel comfortable doing anything. And he doubted he could become the one night stand that Tony seemed to desire.

Steve sighted. He couldn’t really answer that… And he needn’t—he could hear Tony’s soft and even breathing as he slept.

An involuntary smile appeared on his lips and he turned away, leaving.

Outside the mansion, Natasha was waiting for him, leaning against his motorcycle. He looked at her warily.

“Why are you still here?” he asked carefully.

She straightened. “I wanted to talk with you.”

“Yeah? Me too, actually,” he informed, stopping in front of her and crossing his arms over his chest. “Why do I have the feeling that you’re somewhat the reason for his behaviour tonight?”

“I might’ve said something,” she said casually. “He asked me what I’d do if it was my last birthday. I said I’d do whatever I wanted, with whoever I wanted.” She gave him a meaningful look.

Steve frowned. “Why would he—?”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. Stark is dying, Cap.”

He felt his heart plummet to the bottom of his stomach. “What?” His voice was steadier than he felt. He uncrossed his arms.

“I contacted Fury already. He’s coming tomorrow.”

“Wait,” Steve said, his tone a little urgent. “What do you mean he’s dying?”

Natasha blinked up at him. “Classified information,” she said. “All I can tell you is that he’s ill. Fury’s bringing the temporary cure.”

“Temporary?” Ah,  _there_ was the shaking he had expected.

“Stark is the only one who can find the,” she hesitated for a second, weighting the information that she was allowed to share, “the permanent cure.”

“Does he know that?”

“What?”

“That he’s dying,” he urged.

She raised a brow like he was an idiot. “Well,” she drawled, “judging by his behaviour these past few months, I’d guess that yes, he does know.”

Steve took in a deep breath, stepping back. He thought about his conversations with Tony that day—driving a racing car before  _dying_ , having as much fun as humanly possible before  _dying_.

_Why hadn’t Steve been paying more attention to Tony’s words?_

He had chalked up to Tony’s thrill-seeking personality—

“He…” he trailed off.  _He wanted to sleep with Steve before dying._

Suddenly, Steve felt angry. Angry at Tony for thinking like that, about wanting to sleep with Steve and then planning to leave Steve behind—but he was mostly angry at himself for not noticing or questioning.

“How do you even know that?” he finally asked.

“It’s what I’m here for. Watching Stark and find as much information as possible.”

Steve shook his head. “But  _how_?”

Natasha smiled at him enigmatically, and Steve thought that it really wasn’t the time to small. “I’m not blind, contrary to what he believes.” She became serious again. “Do you want to come to the meeting? He knows you’re part of SHIELD already, so it won’t really surprise him.”

Steve nodded numbly. “Are you going to throw away your cover, then?”

She raised an eyebrow. “He’s not my boss.”

***

A long-suffering groan echoed from the top of the stairs and a mumbled, “Why’d you wake me up, JARVIS?”

In came Tony, hair even more dishevelled than last night, shirt rumpled and trousers falling slightly to the side. He froze on the stairs when he noticed the two men in his filthy living room─Fury sat on the couch like he owned it, levelling Tony with a hard stare, whilst Steve stood to the side, shuffling his feet.

“Sir,” came JARVIS’ disembodied British voice, “Director Fury from Strategic Homeland Intervention Enforcement and Logistics Division is currently waiting for your presence in the living room, accompanied by Agent Grant Stevens.”

Tony huffed. “I can  _see_ that, J.” Warily, he walked around the living room, under the watchful eye of Fury, and went straight for the coffee machine on the bar. “It’s too early for this,” he mumbled. He looked up at the ceiling. “JARVIS, are they real? Or am I just deliriou─

Fury stood up suddenly, his coat swishing dramatically. “I am very real. I'm the realest person you're ever gonna meet,” he said seriously, voice dark.

“Just my luck,” Tony muttered, gulping down the entire content of his coffee cup. “Want some?”

Fury snuck up behind him and pulled Tony’s collar down, revealing dark sickly marks on his neck that disappeared behind his shirt. “That’s not looking too good.”

Tony avoided eye contact, making himself another cup of coffee. “Been worse.”

Natasha walked in, hands on her back, and stopped next to Steve.

Tony stared at her, then at Steve, and back at her. “Uh. You’re… Fired.”

“That’s not up to you,” she replied evenly.

"Tony, I want you to meet Agent Romanoff," Fury said, and he looked to have the time of his life, if his smile said anything about it.

"Hi," Tony greeted nonchalantly, gulping down his second cup of coffee.

"I'm a SHIELD shadow once we knew you were─ oh, I was tasked to you by Director Fury."

A pause. “What about him?” He motioned towards Steve, who hasn’t moved and is still staring dumbly at Tony’s neck.

Natasha looked at Steve, lips forming a frown, but it was Fury who replied. “Just another SHIELD agent who’s trying to get acquainted with the times after his years in the military.”

“Military? Uh. That explains a lot. Why me? Was he here to  _supervise_ me as well?” Tony asked bitterly, glaring at the three of them.

Fury raised his brow. “Why would I send two agents to supervise you when Agent Romanoff is the best?”

Natasha’s lip twitched slightly. “Agent Stevens is only adapting. And with you, he could stay under my eye if he ever needed help.”

“Riiiight,” Tony said, turning suddenly towards Steve. “And you’re okay with that? Being watched 24/7? Not that I’m one to talk─”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were  _dying_?” Steve interrupted. It was still difficult to accept that truth.

Fury was glaring at him now, and next to him Natasha whispered with an amused glint in her eyes, “He had a speech prepared and you ruined it.”

But he didn’t quite hear her, his eyes trained on Tony, who was now avoiding his gaze. Tony crossed his arms over his chest and levelled Fury with a tired look. “What do you want from me?”

“What do we want from you? Nuh uh. What do  _you_ want from  _me_? You have become a problem, a problem I have to deal with.” Tony sighed and rested his head against the top cupboard on the wall while Fury’s speech became more heated. “Contrary to your belief, you are not the centre of my universe. I have bigger problems in the southwest region to deal with. Hit him.”

He said the last words to Natasha, who had headed slowly towards the two men, hands behind her back. She moved so fast even Steve was surprised when she stabbed Tony in the neck with a syringe.

“Oh god,” Tony groaned, hand flying to his neck, “are you gonna steal my kidney and sell it? Could you please not do anything awful for five seconds?” He turned to Fury. “What did she just do to me?”

“What did we just do  _for_ you,” Fury said, voice even. “That's lithium dioxide. Gonna take the edge off. We're trying to get you back to work.”

Steve approached slowly, eyes staring at the now clean veins on Tony’s neck.

Tony swallowed. “Gimme a couple boxes of that, I'll be right as rain.”

“It's not a cure. Just abates the symptoms,” Natasha informed him with a careful tone.

“Doesn’t look like it’s gonna be an easy fix,” Fury said, before turning to Steve. “There’s a box outside. Help them get it inside.”

He knew a dismissal when he heard one. Still, it was with a little difficulty that Steve looked away from Tony’s neck and nodded at Fury before leaving. Just as he was walking away, he heard the beginning of Tony’s sentence:

“Trust me, I know. I’m good at this stuff─”

Outside, two men were struggling to transport an enormous metal container, under the watchful eye of Agent Coulson.

“Capt─” he interrupted himself, “Agent Stevens.”

“Sir. Director Fury instructed me to help you with this,” he motioned to the box.

The two guys moving the box placed it back on the ground, heavy breathing, and looked hopefully up at Steve. He smiled at them before taking one side of the box.

“I’ll be following you inside. I’m to keep an eye on Stark while he works,” Phil informed, and Steve had the impression he was trying to impress Steve.

Steve bit his smile down and nodded. “What will he be working on?”

Phil’s smile became a little strained. “Classified information, I’m afraid. It’s up to him to see if he can tell you.”

“And he told you? Whatever this classified information is all about?”

“Let’s just say that we forced his hand.”

Steve nodded uneasily and took the box in his hands, heaving it off the ground. He looked at the other two guys. “Can you make it look like you’re holding it, too? I’m not supposed to uncover my identity yet.”

They returned inside just as Fury was leaving. The man paused when he noticed Steve and levelled him with a questioning gaze. “Are you coming back to HQ?”

Steve blinked and looked back at Tony, who was pointedly staring at the enormous box Steve and the other agents just left on the ground. “I… guess? If I’m not needed─”

“Actually,” Tony interrupted, “That looks really heavy. Might need a hand with it.”

Natasha was smirking knowingly at Steve before looking at both Fury and Tony. “We’ve disabled all communications. No contact with the outside world. Good luck.” And just like that, she left, following Fury out.

There was a moment of silence before Tony looked up and turned to Phil. “Please. First thing, I need a little bodywork. I’ll put in a little time at the lab. If we could send one of your goon squad down to The Coffee Bean, Cross Creek, for a Starbucks run, or something like that, that’d be nice.”

Steve bit his lip to hide an amused snort while Phil only gave Tony a tight-lipped smile. “I’m not here for that. I’ve been authorised by Director Fury to use any means necessary to keep you on premises. If you attempt to leave or play any games, I will tase you and watch  _Supernanny_ while you drool into the carpet. Okay?”

“I think I got it, yeah.”

Phil nodded. “Enjoy your evening’s entertainment.” And then he, too, left.

Tony, at long last, turned towards Steve. “So. You’re authorised to tase me as well if I don’t behave? I mean, not really my cup of tea but I’m flexible.”

Steve shook his head, fond exasperation bleeding into his face. “No, I’m only your coach.”

“You’re also a SHIELD agent.”

“Yes,” Steve conceded. “But I also have a contract with SI as your personal trainer. It is legitimate.”

Tony snorted and looked back at the box in the middle of the room. “So,” he repeated. “Do you know Iron Man’s identity?” he asked nonchalantly.

“No.” A pause. “I assume that’s got something to do with the mysterious ‘classified information’ everyone has been throwing at me?”

“Yup. It’s a good change when that’s not directed at _me_.”

“Quite annoying.”

“Isn’t it?” Tony said, amused. He motioned to the closed box. “Gonna open that or am I supposed to do it on my own with my very delicate arms?”

Steve took a step forward and searched for any visible latch to open the top. “As your coach, I feel like I should let you do it yourself.”

“I think we’re way past a professional relationship at this point.” He crouched down next to Steve. “So? Find anything to open it? I have some tools in my workshop if─ woah. Or you can… do that.”

There was nothing to open it, so Steve made a frustrated sound in his throat and ripped the top of the box off. Tony looked at the opened box, then at Steve’s hands, up to his arms, and then stared at his eyes.

“Okay. Okay, nice. You can… do that. Great.”

“You okay?”

Tony nodded, still staring at him. Steve wondered if perhaps he had gone too far. “Yup. Couldn’t be better. Definitely turned on.”

Steve snorted and rolled his eyes, trying not to feel too flattered.

***

“Where are you going?”

Tony froze next to one of his cars and slowly turned around. “Nowhere?”

Steve raised an unimpressed brow.

“What are you even doing down here?” Tony huffed. “Shouldn’t you be upstairs watching  _Supernanny_ with Agent?”

“Phil’s a little busy right now.”

Tony hesitated. “Are you going to tell him? I don’t really fancy being tased, as I already told you…”

“And I already told you that I’m not here to supervise you. I’m not on duty. I’m only here because you requested my assistance.”

“Assistance. Right.” He paused. “Well, since you aren’t supervising me─” In a swift movement, Tony jumped into the convertible car and looked up at Steve. “Don’t tell him anything, yeah?”

“I can’t promise anything. Where are you going?” Steve repeated, looking at the car more closely. All right, so Tony really had a great taste in cars. He knew that already.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” Tony winked and drove out of the garage.

Steve sighed and walked up the stairs to the living room. Phil was ending his private call.

“How is Stark doing?”

Steve shrugged nonchalantly. “Looks like he’s okay to me.”

Phil’s eyes narrowed suspiciously at Steve’s behaviour. “And he’s… downstairs?”

Steve looked away and sat on the couch, watching screaming children on TV. “Nope.”

Behind him, he heard Phil sigh a long-suffering sigh and muttering something about “making you stay with Stark was a bad idea” and “rubbing off on you” and “bad influence”. Steve tried very hard to bite down his smile.

***

“I heard you broke the perimeter.”

Tony looked up from what he was doing on some metal. It all looked so surreal to Steve that it made his head dizzy. To one side of the room, two robots were either cleaning or helping Tony doing… what he was doing.

“Traitor,” Tony said to Steve, who stood behind Phil.

He shrugged. “He  _is_ my boss.”

Phil looked a little giddy at that for a moment before he schooled his expression. Steve tried to hide a smile.

“I’m your boss  _too_ ,” Tony whined, frowning at whatever he was doing with a hammer. “Besides, that was, like, three years ago. Where have you been?”

“I was doing some stuff,” Phil informed enigmatically. Steve knew he spent most of his time either on the phone talking super secret business or watching TV.

“Yeah, so I heard.” Tony’s gaze shifted briefly towards Steve before looking back down and muttering something frustratedly. “Hey, look, I’m playing for the home team Coulson, you and all your Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers. Now, are you gonna let me work or break my balls?”

Steve couldn’t hide his snort this time and Tony beamed at him.

“What’s this doing here?” Phil asked in a terse voice and drawing their attention back to him.

Steve paled dramatically at the familiar shield that Phil was holding. It looked like an unfinished prototype, or maybe Tony had already taken it apart. It shouldn’t have come much as a surprise since Tony was due to have things that were his father’s, but Steve certainly hadn’t been expecting to find it _here_.

Especially because, after all the time that they knew each other, Steve knew very well that Tony disliked Captain America.

Phil looked as surprised as Steve felt.

Tony looked down at his work and then back at the red, white and blue shield. “That’s it. Bring that to me.”

“You know what this is?” Phil hesitated for a moment, looking longingly at the shield in his hands.

Tony made grabby hands. “It’s exactly what I need to make this work.” And then, after holding the thick tube up, he placed the shield under it to support it. He inspected the result for a moment. “Perfectly level.”

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Steve said, shaking his head with fond exasperation. He should probably feel more insulted than  _fond_ , but, well.

“What? About ruining a national and loved ancient artefact?” Tony snorted, continuing his work now that the tube was levelled.

“I─uh─I wouldn’t really call it  _ancient…_ ”

Tony shrugged. “It’s just a failed prototype, anyway. Cap got the real deal and he selfishly froze with it. God, don’t know what I would do if I had  _that_ in my hands.”

“I’m afraid I  _know_ what you would do,” Phil said as he pointedly looked at the state of the shield.

(Steve thought about his own precious shield that stayed at HQ, since he didn’t need it as a coach, and shuddered to think what would happen to it in Tony’s care.)

Tony rolled his eyes. “C’mon, this one isn’t even vibranium. Do you really think I could take apart vibranium? Though, that’d be an interesting experiment─” He paused in his work and looked up suspiciously at the two of them. “All right. I’m busy and you’re distracting me. What do you want?”

“Nothing,” Phil replied evenly. “Goodbye. I’ve been reassigned. Director Fury wants me in New Mexico.”

“Fantastic. Land of Enchantment.”

“So I’m told.”

“Secret stuff?” Tony questioned curiously.

“Something like that. Good luck.”

“Bye. Thanks.” They shook hands. Then Tony looked up at Steve. “You leaving, too?”

Steve looked curiously at Phil, a question in his eyes.

Phil nodded. “Yes. We might need the… muscle.”

“Oh yeah,” Tony said, leering appreciatively at Steve’s torso. “He’s got plenty of that, yes.”

Steve ducked his head, feeling himself blush, and nodded at Phil. “Does that mean I’m back on duty?”

“Indeed.”

“Too bad, I was liking the company,” Tony said offhandedly.

“I’m sure it won’t be the last time you’ll see each other,” Phil said with a tight-lipped smile.

Tony raised a brow. “Why do I feel like you know something I don’t know? You know I hate that, right? I could nag you for the rest of your life until you told me what’s going on─ I’m good at annoying people. Just ask Grant, he probably knows that. Lived that, actually. Right?”

“Goodbye, Mr Stark,” Phil said coolly before turning around.

“Oh, so now it’s  _Mr_ Stark instead of simply Stark? Personally, I like the latter better.”

Steve waved at him as he followed Phil out of the room, unexpectedly feeling that dread in his gut that he felt last time.

“Bye,” he heard Tony say quietly as the door closed behind them.

***

Steve met Hawkeye on the way to New Mexico. They mostly stayed quiet and to the side as SHIELD took over the site and built up a temporary camp to study the magical hammer that fell through the sky.

(And wasn’t  _that_ strange? The 21st century was getting more and more interesting.)

“That usually doesn’t happen,” Hawkeye said when Steve mentioned the hammer. “Stuff doesn’t normally fall from the sky, you know.”

“Yeah, I gathered. Though, that certainly didn’t happen in the forties.”

“Only planes, then?” Hawkeye joked.

Steve snorted. “Yeah, only planes.”

It was an uncomfortable subject to him, but the way Hawkeye said it put him at ease. (Which was completely absurd when he thought about it since Hawkeye  _was_ a trained assassin.)

He also met Thor─a large strong guy that could actually make Captain America break into a sweat. It surprised Steve, and it seemed to surprise Thor. They didn’t seem to hold a grudge against each other, though, as Thor kind of gave him a compliment about Steve’s strength when SHIELD apprehended him and took him to get interrogated by Phil.

Hawkeye fell from the ceiling next to him, landing on his feet. “You think we’re going to see him again?”

“I think so,” Steve answered. “SHIELD seems really interested in him.”

“I mean, he got the strength,” Hawkeye conceded. “You think they want to recruit him?”

Steve shrugged. “Thor didn’t look really interested in that.”

“Fight him?”

“No,” he replied, shaking his head. “They don’t have the manpower.”

***

Steve found out that right after he left towards New Mexico, Iron Man battled drones at Stark Expo and, well, saved the day. Steve had wanted to go when Phil debriefed him, but he was sent directly towards SHIELD’s helicarrier after Thor “escaped”.

(Steve honestly thought that Phil just let him slip away willingly to see what the guy would do and keep an eye on him.)

He found Natasha the next day, walking casually in, followed by Hawkeye. Though, neither of them were wearing their suits. Steve walked up to her and said, as casually as he could muster, “So.” (Smooth, Rogers. Very smooth.) “How’s Tony?”

She smirked, and next to her, Hawkeye snorted. “Good. He’s meeting Fury today. He’s going to read my report.”

“Report?”

“I  _was_ undercover for a reason, Cap. Fury will explain everything to you when he comes back. At the end of the day, we might have Iron Man as a new colleague.”

Steve stared for a second. “ _Really?_ ” he asked, a little bit of awe seeping into his voice.

Her lips quirked and she looked like she knew something that he didn’t, which was usually true. “Yes,  _really_. He looked like he could be useful, if he was on our side instead of Stark’s.”

“You’re going to… what, convince him to leave Tony and join SHIELD?” Steve frowned, feeling queasy. Iron Man was Tony’s bodyguard for a reason─Tony needed Iron Man.

“No. Let’s just say that Iron Man is too loyal to Stark. We’re convincing Stark to lend his bodyguard to us whenever we need him.”

Hawkeye rolled his eyes. “I thought you wrote something about textbook narcissism?”

Natasha cocked her head. “He can’t deny it.”

Steve nodded, conceding. “So. Iron Man will come? Does that mean I’ll have to use my suit everytime I’m around here?”

“Yes,” Natasha replied, looking at him cautiously. “Wherever Iron Man is, Tony Stark isn’t far away. Unless Fury gives you clearance to disclose your true identity.”

Steve sighed but nodded. Even if Fury did grant him that, he doubted that he would confess his true identity to Tony─ that man seemed to have some kind of issue with Captain America, after all. He paused. “Do you… do you know if I’m going back to work with Tony? As a personal trainer, I mean.”

She shrugged. “That’s not up to me. In fact, it’s your life. You’re not actually an agent, Cap. You can go ask him if he wants you back.”

Hawkeye sniggered. “I don’t see how you would want to go back. But then again, I heard that whenever Stark’s around, you’re never bored.”

“I can confirm that,” Natasha said with a wicked smile.

Then they both left Steve to ponder what she said.

***

“I’m surprised they let you come back without any fuss,” Tony said as he led them to the lift.

Steve had called Tony, as Natasha said, and had asked him if Tony still wanted him as a coach. Tony didn’t actually answer his question and just invited him to the new Stark Tower in New York.

“I heard they have an iron grip around their little agents, you know. Maybe they brainwash them to follow every order without a question,” Tony continued, musing. “Do you follow every order without a question?”

Steve cocked his head towards Tony to look at him. Tony was gazing at him with half-lidded eyes. “I have a… stubborn streak.”

“Hmm, I like stubborn.”

Steve shook his head. “Besides, I’m not really an actual agent,” he said truthfully. “I’m more what you could call an adviser…”

“Really? Great. Me too. Maybe we’ll see each other around when they actually need me, yeah?”

He doubted that, but when he looked at Tony’s big warm eyes, he couldn’t really tell him that. “Maybe,” he settled as the doors opened.

They walked into a spacious living room that Steve couldn’t even comprehend what he was looking at. Like Tony’s Malibu mansion, it was mostly made of glass and expensive furniture, with raised platforms and a bar island to the side, a cupboard full of what looked like many varieties of expensive alcohol behind it. But  _this_ ─ this was definitely more sophisticated, more out of the ordinary, and more… well. Technological seemed like the right word.

Next to him, Tony looked smug. “Like it?”

Steve felt faint. “I… It’s not what I expected from the outside. It’s actually beautiful.”

“I know,” he said, even more smug. Then he paused. “What do you mean, ‘not what you expected from the outside’? Don’t you like the exterior?”

“Oh. Yeah, it’s, uh. Shiny.”

Tony gave him a betrayed look, hand flying to his chest. “Jeez, Grant. I’m hurt.  _Hurt_ , you hear me?”

Steve shrugged, smiling. “It’s just, from an artist’s eye─”

“It’s an architectural treasure!”

“Does Miss Potts like it?”

“Yeah!” At Steve’s dubious look, he glared. “ _Yes_ , she does! Just ask her tomorrow! We’re going to light the tower up for the first time with the arc reactor. Big thing that. You should come,” he said offhandedly.

“Are you sure I’m not going to intrude?”

Tony looked at him like Steve was an idiot. “Are you serious? How’d you intrude if I’m inviting you? Besides, Pep likes you─she really appreciated whatever you did at my birthday party. Whatever that was,” he said, his cheeks turning slightly pink. “We’re just going to celebrate.”

“I feel like I would be intruding.”

Tony took a sharp step forward, placing his face just inches apart from Steve’s. He could feel his breath against his chin. “You aren’t, trust me,” he said, voice husky.

Heart beating too fast for his own good, Steve nodded, eyes half closing as he looked at Tony’s. “Okay,” he said quietly.

And then Tony suddenly stepped away, waving his hands around as he showed him the place. “So this is the penthouse, also known as the place I live in, when I’m not downstairs in the workshops.”

“Workshorps? Plural?”

“Most upper levels are R&D, and I stole one or two as personal workshops,” Tony explained as he dropped on the couch, lying down on his stomach, and peeked up from under his lashes. “I don’t think I need a coach, now. I pretty much know everything I need to know, and it’s not like I’d be able to become as strong as _you_ , so.”

“Oh.” Steve can’t help thinking that Tony could have said that through the phone so Steve wouldn’t have to come and feel his heart plummet to his stomach in front of him.

“I’d still like you to stay, though,” Tony continued, looking at him, gauging his reaction.

Steve’s not sure his heart will survive all the jumping his currently doing. “Yeah?” he asked quietly, slowly approaching the couch. “What would you want me to do here?”

Tony huffed a choked laugh and stood up. “I can’t even guess if you’re being serious or if you’re just saying that to─” he walked slowly towards Steve, face to face, inches apart again, “─turn me on,” he finished quietly.

He could feel his own breath accelerating. “Is it working?”

Distantly, his brain is screaming that he shouldn’t be doing this, that this is insane, and that Tony didn’t even know who he truly was. He should be stopping this before it went too far─ he wanted Tony to know  _everything_ , so there wouldn’t be any lies between them anymore.

“Yes,” Tony breathed before crashing their lips together.

All thoughts flew out the window as he felt Tony’s lips on his.

The kiss was rough and uncoordinated at first, Tony’s want and frustration after this last month palpable, but once Steve’s hand came up to caress his cheek and to soften the kiss, Tony melted. It turned into a soft and chaste kiss, lips moving languidly against each other, biting and teasing─ then Tony started licking Steve’s lower lip and Steve couldn’t resist anymore, giving everything to Tony.

When they parted, both heavy breathing, Tony looked at him. “You sure?” he asked softly.

Steve swallowed hard. “Yeah,” he answered shakily. His mind was still screaming at him. “You?”

Tony’s wicked grin was answer enough, but he still vocalised his thorough enthusiasm. “Hell yeah.”

Steve grinned back at him and, under a sudden impulse, lifted Tony up into his arms. Tony let out a small yelp, locking his legs around Steve’s waist and his arms around his neck. Steve’s holding Tony flush against him, one hand under Tony’s arse and the other at the back of Tony’s neck.

“ _Hot_ ,” Tony breathed against Steve’s mouth. “So damn hot. I’m never putting my feet on the ground again. Ever.”

Steve hummed, eyes gleaming with amusement. “So I’ve heard.”

“Hmm?” Tony was nipping distractedly at Steve’s jaw. “What do you mean?”

Steve moaned as Tony’s teeth grazed against his jawline, his goatee rubbing against his throat. “Rhodey─ he might’ve mentioned something about manhandling,” Steve answered finally.

Tony suddenly stopped his work on Steve’s neck to look at him with bewilderment and Steve took advantage of that moment of distraction to start walking toward the bedroom.

“Wait, no─ you can’t just say that and expect me to let it go! What do you mean Rhodey and manhandling?!”

Steve chuckled against Tony’s cheek. “He just said that you’d probably like the manhandling.”

“Oh!” Tony exclaimed, as if he finally found the final piece of the puzzle. “So  _that’s_ why you’re suddenly showing off your muscles!”

“I’m not showing off my muscles.”

“Yes, you are. Opening a metal box with your bare hands? Hmm,  _hot_ , but showing off,” Tony said, pecking his lips with an amused and triumphant smile.

Steve nodded slightly, opening the bedroom door with his foot. “All right,” he conceded, “I may have been showing off a little.”

“Uh uh, just a little.”

The bedroom door closed behind them.

***

It was a little embarrassing, the next morning, to walk out of the bedroom and come face to face with Pepper Potts. And by a little embarrassing, he meant absolutely mortifying. Thankfully, he had put his trousers back on.

(The same couldn’t be said to Tony, who wore only the shirt he kept from last night and his underwear.)

Tony sat at one of the bar stools, holding a cup of coffee in his hands. Pepper sat in front of him, and when they heard Steve approaching, she turned around. She looked surprised, at first, then she rolled her eyes and smiled at Steve.

“I can’t believe you finally gave in,” she said truthfully, shaking her head in exasperation.

Tony, who had been staring at Steve’s chest since he had come in, perked up. “He’s going to celebrate with us tonight!”

“That’s quite the step. You sure you can deal with this?” Pepper asked, turning back at Steve.

“The celebrating?”

“No,  _this_ ,” she emphasised, pointing at Tony, who was looking at him with big puppy dog eyes. Pepper snorted. “He’s quite the handful.”

“I can deal, yeah.”

“Besides, he’s got big hands,” Tony added, taking a long sip of his coffee.

Steve flushed and Pepper shook her head. “Welcome to the team, Grant. We’re three and we have a meeting every two weeks to debrief. Members are you, me, and Rhodey.”

“Oh, wow. I didn’t know you had meetings to talk about me. I’m  _flattered_.”

Pepper nodded. “The meetings are around a bar with many alcoholic beverages and to complain about Tony Stark.”

Tony made an offended sound while Steve chuckled, joining them around the kitchen bar.

***

The night started out great. Tony left the building with Iron Man to activate the arc reactor, and Steve watched as Pepper looked into the holographic screens to make sure everything was going great. Tony’s voice echoed through the living room from JARVIS’ speakers.

They talked around about technology that went right over Steve’s head, but from what he could understand, everything was going exactly according to plan.

“Light her up,” Tony instructed.

Pepper did something on the holographic screen. “How does it look?”

Steve stood from the couch and walked over to the windows, watching as, slowly, the lights of Stark Tower reflected on the other buildings. Far away, Steve could see the repulsors of the Iron Man suit. If he understood correctly, Iron Man would deposit Tony on the roof of the tower and would leave from a secret passage, leaving the suit in its creator’s care.

“Like Christmas, but with more…  _me_.”

Steve snorted. “Textbook narcissism, much?”

Tony groaned. “They told you about  _that_? I swear, if Romanoff wasn’t so scary─”

“What? You’d what?” Steve asked, amused.

“Well. You know. I’d bedazzle her, probably.”

Pepper joined Steve at the windows, looking appreciatively at the light shining off the other buildings. “Haven’t you already tried to do that when you first saw her?”

“Semantics.”

Pepper leaned against Steve as if she was sharing a precious secret. “He failed thoroughly.”

“Pep!”

Steve played the game and whispered to her. “I think he’s got a lot of courage to even try.”

“Thank you! Finally someone who appreciates my efforts!”

“Aren’t you mixing the definition of  _courage_ with  _recklessness_?”

“Ah,” Steve said, tilting his head, “perhaps.”

“You two─ you two shouldn’t have been left alone together! Pep, you’re corrupting him!”

And then the call ended. If he concentrated hard, he could probably hear Tony shuffling on the rooftop, but he guessed that would be rude to Pepper, as he would have to ignore her. Instead, he followed her to the bar where she picked up what looked like a very expensive bottle of sparkling wine.

“He’s got very expensive tastes. Comes right from France.”

“Hey, you two!” Tony called from the stairs that led to the rooftop. “Quit bad mouthing me!”

Pepper raised a brow. “It’s not bad mouthing when it’s the truth.”

“Wow, Pep. That─ that was so rude. You break my heart.” And, for the theatrics, he clutched his chest as if stabbed and fell to his knees.

She turned back to Steve. “So, Tony’s dead. More for us, I guess,” she said, raising the bottle.

“Wait, no,” Tony called as she started pouring the liquid onto Steve’s glass. “No, no, don’t do this to me, Pep. Pep. Pepper, darling. You can’t celebrate with me  _dying_.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, this sounds awfully familiar, doesn’t it?”

Steve raised a brow. “So he told you about  _that_ , did he?”

“Told me? No. I found out through Natalie─ Natasha, while Iron Man was off fighting robots,” Pepper said, completely ignoring Tony who had stood up and approached the kitchen bar.

“Drones, Pepper. They were drones.”

“You, too?” Steve asked her. “I also found out through Natasha.”

“Good girl. I like her.”

Tony looked absolutely affronted. “She lied to you!”

“Your point being? You lied to me, too.”

Tony groaned, picking up the bottle and pouring some sparkling wine in his own glass. “What is this? The infamous Tony Stark Friends Squad meeting? Aren’t you lacking a Rhodey? Maybe I should’ve invited him.”

Pepper nodded emphatically. “He’s going to be  _so_ jealous.”

“Are you mocking me? I can’t tell if you’re mocking me─”

JARVIS’ voice interrupted them. “Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overwritten.”

“Wha─” Steve started to ask, but was interrupted by Phil’s voice coming from Tony’s phone.

“Stark, we need to talk.”

Tony turned to Steve. “It’s back to simple Stark, now, I see,” he muttered with a pointedly raised brow. Steve bit his lip and forced down his smile. Tony picked his phone up and levelled it in front of him. “You have reached the life model decoy of Tony Stark, please leave a message.”

Pepper made a face and stood from her stool.

“This is urgent.”

“Then leave it urgently─”

The lift doors opened suddenly and in walked Phil, documents in his hand. Pepper was already walking up to him as Tony and Steve slid down their stools at a more moderate pace.

Tony mock glared at Pepper. “Security breach. We talked about this─ this is on you.”

“Mr Stark,” Phil said neutrally. His gaze slid to Steve’s and he seemed to tense even more.

“Stark’s fine, actually.”

“Phil! Come in,” Pepper invited, motioning with her arm towards the living room space.

“Phil?”

“I can’t say,” Phil replied tersely, but he did step inside.

“Uh… His first name is Agent─”

“Agent Agent Coulson?” Steve snorted, following Tony to the main space, glass in hand.

“Well, yeah─”

Pepper was ushering Phil inside, insisting. “We’re celebrating.”

“Which is why he can’t stay,” Tony piped up.

“We need you to look this over,” he offered a file, “as soon as possible.”

Tony looked at the file distatefully, not moving to take it. “I don’t like being handed things.”

Which was something that Steve knew already─in fact, he learnt about that in their first meeting, when he had handed Tony a bottle and the man forced Steve to place it on the bench so Tony could pick it up. He only knew two people who could hand things to Tony, and even then, it made him uncomfortable.

“That's alright, because I love to be handed things. So, let's trade,” Pepper said as she handed Steve her glass, picked up the file from Phil and handed it to Tony. Then, she picked her glass back. “Thank you.”

Steve nodded at her and looked over as Tony flipped the file and generally looked at it like it would bite him. He took his phone out and started typing something in it. “Official consulting hours are between eight and five every other Thursday,” he said nonchalantly, opening the file.

“This isn't a consultation.”

Steve frowned, looking at Tony and then back at Phil. Now that he looked closer, Phil looked concerned and tense. He was usually tense, of course (except around Steve), but he actually never looked  _concerned─_

“Is this about the Avengers?” Pepper was saying, capturing both Steve’s and Phil’s attention. “Which I… I know nothing about.”

Tony made a dismissive motion with his hand as he walked around the room towards a few worktables. “The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I didn't even qualify.”

“I didn't know that either,” she said sheepishly.

“Is this about Iron Man?” Steve suddenly asked. Everyone startled and looked at him. “I mean, if it isn’t a consultation, it’s obviously Iron Man, right?”

“What, you think I can’t be of use to SHIELD? I’ll have you know that, aside from creating an extremely advanced suit armour, I’m a genius, billionaire, playboy philanthropist.”

“I know, and you know that’s not what I meant,” Steve said, rolling his eyes at Pepper, before turning back to Phil. “Phil, is something wrong?”

“Why is he Phil to everyone here?” Tony muttered as he tinkered with something.

Phil nodded his head. “Let’s just say that we’re moving to the helicarrier for the time being.”

“The HQ…?” At Phil’s gaze, Steve had a foreboding feeling. He crossed his arms. “This has got to do with the Tesseract, hasn’t it?”

“The what?” Pepper asked.

“That’s, uh. This,” Tony said from his side of the room, making grand movement with his arm as holographic images came to life. Pepper and Steve approached slowly.

Steve looked at all the profiles, jumped over his own with the familiar shield, and carefully read Banner’s, Romanoff’s, and Barton’s file. In the centre, more information about the Tesseract was displayed.

“I thought this was classified information?” Tony asked, gazing up at Steve.

Pepper cleared her throat. “I don’t think you’re really one to talk, Tony. You spilled everything when I asked just one question.”

Tony tilted his head. “Touché.” Then his gaze froze on one of the files. “How’d you manage to hide this from  _me_?” he asked, pointing at the Captain America file. Thankfully, there was no picture of Steve without his helmet. “How could I have possibly overlooked this when I hacked into your server─” He interrupted himself at Pepper choked noise and Steve’s raised brow. “I mean─ Nah, I mean exactly what I said. I’m curious, though. I found everything about Dr. Banner and Blonsky, and after closer examination, I found about Romanoff and Barton─”

“It was extremely classified information,” Phil informed, pointedly not looking anywhere near Steve.

Tony huffed a laugh. “What, you categorise your classified information? When did you find him, anyway? Was it recently?”

Phil raised a brow. “Everything is on the file.”

“All right, then,” Pepper said. “I’m going to take the jet to D.C. tonight.”

“We were celebrating,” Tony pouted.

“You have homework. You have  _a lot_ of homework.”

“I’m going with Phil,” Steve announced, nodding at Pepper.

“What? Are you all abandoning me? Agent, you’re stealing my fun time.”

“That’s a wise decision, Grant,” Pepper said, nodding back and ignoring Tony. “If you stayed I doubt he’d have any work done.”

Steve felt his cheeks flush. “I figured as much.”

“Aw, come  _on_!”

Pepper went up to Tony and kissed his cheek. “Work hard.” And then she walked over to Phil, ready to leave.

Tony looked up at Steve with hopeful eyes. “Do you really need to leave?”

“You know I do,” Steve answered.

“Then, are we going to see each other at the helicarrier?”

Steve hesitated. “Maybe.”

Tony pouted. “Do I get a kiss from you too, at the very least?”

Steve’s already flushed cheeks became hotter. He leaned in and kissed Tony softly on the lips. Tony pushed against Steve, slightly deepening the kiss.

“Then,” he whispered breathily, his lips featherlike against Steve’s, “can we continue this next time we see each other?”

“Yes,” Steve replied, squeezing his hands on Tony’s hips (and when did they get there?), before taking a step back and walking over to the other two, who were thankfully occupied talking with each other.

(Though, Steve knew they were both paying attention to what was happening, of course.)

“So, any chance you guys are driving by LaGuardia?” Pepper asked as they walked into the lift and left Tony on his own.

“We can drop you off.”

“Fantastic. Oh, I want to hear about the, ah─ cellist, is that still a thing?”

“She moved back to Portland.”

The doors closed and the last thing Steve saw was Tony turning towards the Tesseract file.

***

Once he got to the helicarrier, he left the bridge before Natasha could bring Banner and immediately went to his private quarters, where he kept his suit. He hadn’t put it on since he woke up, it’d be the first time in months, and he found that he felt a little nervous.

(Another reason that he felt nervous was because Tony was coming and Steve will have to act like it was their first meeting.)

He put it on and picked up the shield, slowly caressing the smooth and coloured surface. He remembered the broken apart shield that Tony had and couldn’t help imagine the same thing happening to this one if Tony ever came into possession of it. He decided that, whatever happened, he wouldn’t lend it to Tony, not even if he made his adorable puppy dog eyes (that worked more often than not).

Someone knocked on the door and Steve opened. Natasha was on the other side.

“Hey, Cap, we’re up. Stuttgart, Germany.”

Steve nodded and followed her out.

***

Steve had already fought strong people in his life, people as strong or stronger than him─ both Red Skull and Thor come to mind. This guy had Thor’s strength and, well, magic.

Steve had never fought magic before.

So it was a little difficult to concentrate when your enemy multiplicated himself and you didn’t know which was real and which was not, and the attacks seemed to come from everywhere.  _Then_ the quinjet started to play that music that Tony always seemed to listen to─

And Iron Man landed on the floor and fired a repulsor blast. “Make a move, reindeer games.” Loki’s odd garbs faded away and he rose his hands in surrender. “Good move.”

Steve slowly approached, a little disturbed by Iron Man’s way of speaking. Then again, he guessed that Tony rubbed off on anyone that was close to him. “Iron Man,” he greeted, looking down at Loki.

“Captain,” Iron Man nodded, arms still outstretched.

The quinjet landed on the ground and they forced Loki inside, strapping him down in the plane. His willingness to obey gave Steve a queasy feeling. Over the cockpit, Natasha was talking to Fury and glancing back at them from time to time with a curious look. Steve had again the feeling that she knew something that they didn’t.

“I don’t like it,” Steve told Iron Man, looking back at Loki who stayed quiet on the back.

“What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?”

It was disturbing hearing Iron Man talk─it sounded like he was talking to a robot instead of a man. “I don’t remember it being that easy. I met his brother─these guys pack a wallop.”

“Brother? You mean, the Thor guy from the files?”

Steve nodded, looking back at Loki. “He certainly put more of a fight than this one.”

Loki wasn’t looking at them. In fact, he was deliberately ignoring them, looking anywhere else. Steve knew the guy was hearing them perfectly.

Iron Man was silent for a moment and Steve turned back towards him. He looked at his reflection on the golden faceplate. He raised a questioning brow, hoping that he could see it under the suit’s cowl.

“You were in New Mexico, then? With Agent Coulson and Agent Stevens?”

Steve blinked. He swallowed hard. “Yeah.” Of course Tony would share all the information with Iron Man. “It went as okay as you would expect with a─ a god? He put some agents unconscious and Hawkeye had to sedate him so I could take him down.”

“That difficult, huh?” Iron Man’s voice didn’t sound as cocksure as before. His voice sounded softer─or as soft as the voice modelator would allow. “Agent Stevens didn’t come back after that mission. Was he hurt?”

He felt his heart beating a little faster. Did Tony worry when he hadn’t gone back to Malibu? To the point of sharing his worries with his bodyguard? God, he really didn’t want to hide his identity from Tony… “No,” he answered when he noticed he was taking too long to reply. “No, he wasn’t hurt. He was called back to the helicarrier.”

“Okay, good. Fantastic.”

In the cockpit, Natasha let out a long-suffering sigh. Steve was about to ask her if everything was all right when there was a flash of lightning and a roar of thunder.

Natasha was alert in a blink of an eye. “Where’s this come from?”

Loki was looking around and leaning forward. Steve felt his stomach churn. “What’s the matter? Scared of a little lightning?”

“I’m not overly fond of what follows.” Then he looked up.

As if on cue, there was a crash of the quinjet, making it stumble in the air, and everyone looked up. Natasha sped up and both Steve and Iron Man grabbed something to steady themselves. Steve grabbed his shield, getting ready to combat mode, when Iron Man pushed a button and the ramp of the jet opened.

Thor jumped in, and Steve hesitated for a second─ a second too long, as next thing he knew, Iron Man fell on him and both Loki and Thor disappeared.

Iron Man groaned as he got off Steve. “Now there’s that guy.”

Natasha looked back at them. “Another Asgardian?”

“That guy’s friendly,” Steve said, unconvincingly.

“I thought you said he put most of SHIELD agents unconscious and needed to be sedated by Hawkeye for you to take him down? How’s that friendly?” Iron Man asked, incredulous, as he walked to the edge of the ramp.

“What are you doing?” Steve asked. “We need a plan of attack.”

“I have a plan.  _Attack_!” And then he jumped off the ramp.

Steve immediately goes for the parachute. Natasha looked back at him, biting her lip. “What?” he asked, strapping on the parachute.

“Nothing, nothing,” she said breezily.

He frowned at her, but didn’t have the time to ask anything about her behaviour. He jumped off the plane, head first.

***

Convincing Thor to join them was… not exactly easy, but once Steve landed and Thor recognised him, it was only a matter of showing each other’s strength like last time. Except, this time Thor had the famous hammer. The resounding loud boom and lightning that followed the hammer hitting against the shield’s surface made the three of them realise that they really,  _really_ , didn’t want to fight.

When the quinjet landed on the helicarrier, Loki is immediately escorted by a troop of armed agents to where they could lock him up. Then Iron Man disappeared somewhere, and Steve followed Natasha and Thor to the bridge.

Steve had expected to see Iron Man again, that maybe Iron Man had walked off to fetch Tony from wherever he had been hiding, but there was only Tony and no armour in sight. Steve tried to keep his face neutral, to not start smiling like loon at the sight of Tony, in all his confidence and glory. Too bad he’d have to lie to him─ and that thought was enough to calm his fluttering heart for the moment.

They had just watched the video of Fury and Loki talking when Steve recognised Tony’s and Phil’s voices approaching.

“I think it’s about the mechanics. Iridium─ what do they need the Iridium for?” Banner was asking.

Tony finally appeared and swiftly jumped into the conversation. “It’s a stabilizing agent.” Then he leaned towards Phil, whispering, “I’m saying, take a weekend─ I’ll fly you to Portland. Keep love alive.”

Steve bit his lip, avoiding Phil’s annoyed look when he gazed at him. Looks like Tony had been hearing his and Pepper’s conversation. Tony continued to talk to the group at large and Steve tried to concentrate on the job.

“It means the portal won’t collapse on itself like it did at SHIELD.” He kept walking to the control panels like he owned the place, investigating with curious eyes. “Also, means the portal can open as wide and stay open as long as Loki wants. Uh─raise the mizzen mast, ship the topsails,” he said out of nowhere. There was a minute of silence, then─ “That man is playing Galaga! Thought we wouldn’t notice, but we did.” He covered his eye with a hand and looked at the screens. He let out a frustrated sound and looked at Agent Hill. “How does Fury even see these?”

Hill gave him an annoyed look. “He turns,” she answered.

Tony turned back to the screens. “Ugh, sounds exhausting.” He typed something on the screen, messing around, before continuing talking. “The rest of the raw materials, Agent Barton can get his hands on pretty easily. Only major component he still needs is a power source of high energy density. Something to─ kick start the Cube.”

Hill raised a brow. “When did you become an expert in thermonuclear astrophysics?”

“Last night. Plenty of time, as  _someone─_ ” Tony pointedly turned to Phil, who was standing a little to the side, with a reproachful look, “drove all the fun away.” He looked around the room, eyes searching, before looking back at them. “The packet, Selvig’s notes, the extraction theory papers─ am I the only one who did the reading?”

“Seems like you were the only who had plenty of time,” Natasha commented, a small smirk on her face. Tony glared at her.

“Does Loki need any particular kind of power source?” Steve asked, trying to understand whatever science was coming out of Tony’s mouth. Tony, whenever he was in The Zone─his words, not Steve’s─would still take the time to explain in a more comprehensible way all of his techno babbling, to make sure that Steve─Grant─understood the basics, but he didn’t seem inclined to do the same thing for Captain America.

It was Banner who answered, but whatever he said went completely over Steve’s head. He looked around and shared a look with Thor, who looked as confused as Steve felt. Natasha seemed to understand─then again, she was a great actress.

Tony seemed to instantly like Banner, as they both shared their knowledge about science. They shook hands. “It’s good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electronic collisions is unparalleled. And I’m a huge fan of the way you─ lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster,” Tony said, unapologetic.

Steve tried to quell the urge to roll his eyes and mutter a ‘you would’. Captain America wasn’t supposed to know Tony Stark, even less what he would or wouldn’t like.

Banner pursed his lips. “Thanks.”

Fury walked in, joining them. “Doctor Banner is only here to track the Cube. I was hoping you might join him.”

“I’d start with that stick of his. It may be magical but it works an awful lot like a HYDRA weapon,” Steve informed, grateful that the conversation returned to English.

“I don’t know about that, but it is powered by the Cube. And I like to know how Loki used it to turn two of the sharpest men I know into his personal flying monkeys.”

“Monkeys?” Thor asked, looking at him bemusedly. “I do not understand─”

“I do!” Steve said, looking around him.

They were all silent, looking at him. Natasha was hiding and smirk and Tony crossed his arms over his chest and didn’t bother to hide his eye roll.

“I...I understood that reference,” he continued lamely.

(He was sure that, had it been Grant who understood it, Tony would have given him the thumbs up. How many times had Tony complained about Grant’s lacking knowledge on pop culture?

He knew that, logically, he shouldn’t feel jealous of his own alter-ego.)

Tony turned to Banner. “Shall we play, Doctor?” he asked.

“This way, sir,” Banner said as they walked out of the bridge.

Steve resisted the urge to flop and bang his head against the surface of the table.

Natasha didn’t hide her smirk, now. “Brilliant, genius,” she told him.

Steve sighed and wished the ground would just open and swallow him up.

He looked up at Fury who had gone to talk with Agent Hill, hesitated for a second and made up his mind. He stood up and approached them. “Sir, may I speak to you in private?”

Fury levelled him with a look, but ended up nodding, following Steve out of the bridge and into the corridor. “What is it?”

Steve looked down at his gloved hands and wondered how to start the conversation, before concluding that he was being foolish. Fury didn’t really care that much of tact. He looked up, eyes determined. “Sir, I’d like to reveal my true identity to Tony.”

“Son,” Fury started, ignoring the fact that Steve was probably older than everyone in the helicarrier, “your secret identity schtick ended when you appeared in front of everyone’s eyes as Captain America. Now that you’re on stage, now that it’s known that you’re back, Grant Stevens doesn’t really serve much purpose.” He crossed his arms. “And you seem to have finally found your footing in the 21st century, which was the reason we gave you a job close to Stark, as he’s the best person to catch up anyone with the times.”

“Does that mean that I can tell him the truth?” Steve asked, feeling slightly out of breath.

Fury looked at him as if Steve was deliberately wasting his precious time. “Do whatever you want, Captain. Your life, not mine. Just remember : you might not be the only one hiding secrets.” And then he turned sharply on his heel and walked back to the bridge.

Steve stared at the floor for what felt like a handful of minutes, trying to work his mind over it─ over telling the truth to Tony. He felt his insides twist at the thought. Tony was very clear in his dislike for Captain America… and they had just started their relationship… was it too soon? Too late?

He rubbed his hand over his face, sighing.

And what was that thing about secrets that Fury mentioned? Steve knew that already─ Tony clearly hid the fact that he was dying just a week ago─ god, it felt like weeks since then.

He sighed again and turned around to walk over to the lab. This wasn’t the time to be dwell on that.

Steve walked in just in time to see Tony zap Banner in the side and the latter yelping. Steve almost had a heart seizure right there and then, his face blanching and breath hitching, decidedly  _not_ thinking about what would happen had Banner lost control─

“Nothing?” Tony was asking, peering intently at Banner.

Steve approached them, hands clenched. “Are you  _nuts_?”

Tony gave Steve a Look, as if he was actually questioning  _Steve’s_ sanity for even asking. “Jury’s out.” Bruce chuckled quietly, and Tony turned back to him. “You really have got a lid on it, haven’t you? What’s your secret? Mellow jazz, bongo drums, huge bag of weed?”

He couldn’t even find Tony’s usually witty remarks funny─ Steve was trembling with nerves, thinking about everything that could have gone wrong with Tony’s little reckless experiment. “Is everything a joke to you?”

“Funny things are,” he said in a tone that clearly stated that Steve wasn’t.

Steve wondered if Tony was trying to rile him up on purpose, which wouldn’t be really out there, knowing Tony. “Threatening your─ the safety of everyone on this ship isn’t funny!” He turned to Banner with an apologetic look. “No offense, Doc.”

Banner looked away, continue to studying the staff with an uneasy smile. “No, it’s alright. I wouldn’t have come aboard if I couldn’t handle─” He looked back at Tony. “─pointy things.”

Now it was Tony’s time to chuckle─ were these two joking around? “You’re tiptoeing, big man. You need to strut,” he said, pointing whatever it was he used to zap Banner.

“And you need to focus on the problem, Mister Stark.” Steve knew he was right, technically, but he also knew that he said that because he wished Tony was as easy going with Captain America as he seemed to be with everyone else.

How would he ever be able to tell him the truth when Tony wouldn’t even give him a chance?

“You think I’m not? Why did Fury call us in? Why now, why not before? What isn’t he telling us? I can’t do the equation unless I have all the variables.”

Steve hesitated, looking at Tony warily. “You think Fury’s hiding something?”

“He’s a spy. Captain, he’s  _the_ spy. His secrets have secrets.” He gestured at Banner, who tried to pointedly stay out of the conversation. “It’s bugging him to, isn’t it?”

“Uh─ ah, I just wanna finish my work here and─”

Steve frowned, folding his arms over his chest. “Doctor?” he prompted.

Banner visibly hesitated. “‘A warm light for all mankind,’ Loki’s jab at Fury about the Cube.”

Steve nodded. “I heard it.”

“Well, I think that was meant for you,” he said, turning to Tony, who offered him a blueberry. “Even if Barton didn’t tell Loki about the tower, it was still all over the news.”

Steve frowned at the table, mentally thanking Pepper’s great idea of leaving to DC.

“It’s powered by an arc reactor, self-sustaining energy source. That building will run itself for, what, a year?”

“It’s just the prototype,” he said offhandedly, then turned smugly to Steve. “I’m kind of the only name in clean energy right now, that’s what he’s getting at.”

Banner continued before Steve could retort with a ‘I know that’ that would’ve sounded either too fond or too snappish. “So, why didn’t SHIELD bring him in on the Tesseract project? What are they even doing in the energy business in the first place?”

Tony nodded. “I should probably look into that as soon as my decryption program finishes breaking into all of SHIELD’s secure files,” he said, making his way around the worktable. Steve blinked and then rolled his eyes. Of  _course_ he would hack SHIELD’s server. Tony must’ve misinterpreted his eye roll, as he continued talking. “JARVIS has been running it since I hit the bridge. In a few hours I’ll know every dirty secret SHIELD has ever tried to hide. Blueberry?” he added, offering Steve a blueberry.

Steve considered the bag for a moment before shaking his head. He couldn’t even fathom how Tony could feel hungry with everything that was happening. Sure, he knew Tony could eat whenever, wherever, but this─ Steve wouldn’t really say that he trusts Fury or SHIELD, but they were the ones that found him, and they seemed to only want Steve’s well-being since he woke up… it was a little hard to swallow.

He shook his head. “I think Loki’s trying to wind us up. This is a man who means to start a war and if we don’t stay focused he’ll succeed. We have orders, we should follow them.”

Tony looked to his side with a glint in his eyes before turning back at him with a wicked grin. “You know, just the other day I was talking about SHIELD’s iron grip around their little agents. This just proves that I was absolutely right,” he said smugly.

Steve blinked, his mouth parting slightly. He hadn’t expected for Tony to mention their conversation so casually, out of nowhere, and to  _Captain America_ of all people.

“Steve,” Banner continued, shaking Steve out of his daze. It was weird being called by his true name after a four months of ‘Captain’ and a month of ‘Grant’. “Tell me none of this smells a little funky to you?”

Steve looked away, pursing his lips. “Just find the Cube.” And then he left.

He really needn’t Tony getting in trouble. But he had a point, and Steve felt that foreboding feeling that he  _really_ needed to stop ignoring. He turned on his heel and set off in the opposite direction.

***

The weapon’s weight was heavy, not physically but mentally. The metal was cold against his palm and it reflected an all too familiar blue light. Something had churned inside his stomach when he had first laid eyes on it, seemingly innocent in that container in the storage room.

Steve hadn’t exactly trusted them,  _no_ , but they had  _found him_ , they had  _helped him_ ─

_Did they really think they could get away with this?_

The lab was right ahead, the door ajar, and he could perfectly hear Fury and Tony argue.

“─your cube back, no muss, no fuss. What is Phase Two?” Tony asked as Steve entered the room, his hand hovering on the holographic computer screen.

Steve slammed the large HYDRA gun on the table. The sound made everyone turn towards him with surprised expressions. “Phase Two is SHIELD used the Cube to make weapons.” He turned to Tony, who was levelling him with a calculating look. “Sorry, computer was moving a little slow for me,” he told him, a little cheekily. “I told you I had a stubborn streak.”

Tony’s expression changed immediately but Fury was talking to Steve, so he hadn’t the time to really mull over it.

“Rogers, we gathered everything related to the Tesseract. This does not mean that we’re─”

But Tony cut him off, his face back to normal. “I’m sorry, Nick,” he said, turning the screen towards the man. “What were you lying?”

On the screen, for everyone to see, was detailed information on the plans they had to building a missile. Steve felt himself turn cold.

“I was wrong, Director,” Steve said coldly. “The world hasn’t changed a bit.”

Natasha and Thor entered the lab, and that was when everything went to hell. Bruce and Natasha started arguing, then Fury, and Thor, and  _everyone_ ─ It was a cacophony. Everyone tried to add their input, to have the last word, the last jab. Steve felt a little light-headed, heat rising to his chest, to his face, as anger controlled his words.

“─what are we, a team? No, no, no. We’re a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We’re─ we’re a time bomb,” Banner was saying, voice rising slowly for the first time Steve’s heard.

“You need to step away,” Fury said.

And then Tony slapped a hand on Steve’s back as he said, “Why shouldn’t the guy let off a little steam?”

But that was the last straw. Steve turned and slapped his hand away. “You know damn well why! Back off!” His throat was raw from all the shouting and he just wanted everything to stop, to calm down, and to  _quiet_. He wondered, distantly, if that was what the others were thinking as well.

“Oh, I’m starting to want you to make me,” Tony challenged, his voice husky and daring. His eyes were wide and there was  _something─_ something that Steve couldn’t put his finger on.

And from there, there was only hurtful words that Steve had never thought about, had never wanted to say. And yet they left his mouth, barreling against Tony who responded in kind with his best jabs, his best verbal sharp blows.

He never thought Steve could be so cruel to someone he cherished so much.

They finally quieted when Banner started talking, his words numb and horrifying. Steve was finally calm enough to think clearly, and that was when he noticed the sceptre in Banner’s hand, his knuckles turning white on the spear. Natasha and Fury were pointing their guns at him.

“Doctor Banner, put down the sceptre,” Steve said slowly, snapping Banner out of his undoubtedly rage.

Banner looked down at his hand, surprised at the sight of the sceptre. The monitor on the other side of the room made a noise, catching his attention, and Banner put the sceptre back on the table, walking around it and to the screen. “Sorry, kids, you don’t get to see my party trick after all.”

“You located the Tesseract?” Thor asked for confirmation.

“Iron Man can get there faster,” Tony said.

“Look, all of us─” Steve started, but Tony was already turning to walk out of the room. Steve held a hand in front of Tony, effectively stopping him in his tracks. Tony scowled at him. “He’s not going alone!”

But Tony was having none of that, smacking his hand away. “You wanna stop me?” he asked defiantly.

Steve felt his anger rushing back up, but suppressed it. “We don’t have time for this,” he said at last.

Tony narrowed his eyes. “I’m not afraid to hit an old man.” And okay, that  _hurt─_

He heard Banner’s ‘ _oh my god_ ’ before the ground shook and both Tony and Steve were blown to the entryway. He heard more than saw the others fall to the ground as well. When the floor stopped shaking, Steve scrambled to his feet, helping Tony up.

“Get Iron Man,” Steve said urgently, leading Tony out the door.

“Yep,” was all he said before disappearing down the corridor. Steve watching him go for a few seconds before turning in the opposite direction.

“Somebody’s gotta get outside and patch that engine,” Hill’s voice drifted through Steve’s earpiece.

“Iron Man,” Fury said, “you copy that?”

“I’m on it,” came his robotic voice.

Steve was running to number three engine, sidestepping the hectic movement from other agents who tried to remain in and maintain control. The hall was dim and filled with debris. As Steve arrived at the damaged area, he hoped that Tony was safe wherever Iron Man had been hiding.

“Iron Man! Iron Man, I’m here,” he called out, looking at the red and gold figure flying not far away.

“Good. Let’s see what we got.”

“Iron Man,” Steve said, unable to stop himself, “where’s Tony? Is he safe?”

There was a long, terrible pause, where Steve imagined all kinds of answers. “He’s safe,” Iron Man finally replied. Steve nodded shakily. “Look,” he continued, mind back on the job, “I need you to get to that engine control panel and tell me which relays are in overload position.”

Steve nodded despite the fact that Iron Man couldn’t see him, and leapt off the metal platform, swinging himself over to the control panel. He heard what sounded like a sharp intake of breath from the earpiece as he opened the panel.

“Is everything okay?” Steve asked, worry on his voice.

Iron Man shook his question off. “What’s it look like in there?”

Steve hesitated for the first time, looking at the wires and red lights. “It seems to run on some form of electricity,” he shouted over the wind.

Iron Man made a choked noise. “Well,” he said wryly, “you’re not wrong.”

Steve flushed with embarrassment and looked more closely at the wires. Over the earpiece, Iron Man gave him instructions to what look for. Nothing seemed about to blow. Everything seemed in order. “Okay, the relays are intact.” He closed the panel, looking up. “What’s our next move?”

“Even if I clear the rotors, this thing won’t re-engage without a jump… I’m gonna have to get in there and push.”

Steve felt a little helpless, leaving his teammate do all the hard work. “If that thing gets up to speed, you’ll get shredded!”

“Then stay in the control unit and reverse polarity long enough to disengage maglev and that should─”

“Speak English!” Steve shouted, frustrated. It was like the scene back on the bridge, where he couldn’t understand a thing coming from Tony’s mouth.

Iron Man huffed. “See that red lever?” he asked patiently, as if he was used to explaining all his techno-babble. “It’ll slow the rotors down long enough for me to get out. Stand by it, wait for my word,” he ordered.

Steve made his way to the shiny red lever. He stood there while Iron Man worked on the debris, waiting. And that was when the fight begun. Steve saw the grenade before it could land and slapped it away. He rolled back on the carrier and engaged in a fight with the attackers, making sure to stand close to the lever.  _Any minute now, any minute─_

He threw one of his attackers off the carrier and jumped onto the catwalk, grabbing the abandoned gun and fired at his other assailant.

But the man was just as good with a gun, forcing Steve over the edge and slipping. Luckily, he grabbed one of the wires and started painstakingly slowly making his way up.

“Cap, hit the lever!” Iron Man said into his earpiece.

Steve tried to climb up faster. “I need a minute here!” he said urgently.

“Lever! Now!” The desperate edge in his voice got through the voice modulator. Steve finally hauled himself up just as Iron Man said, eloquently, “Uh-oh.”

He left the catwalk and made his way over to the lever, pulling it. One he managed to do that, he ran for cover as the last assailant spotted him and started shooting. As if on cue, Iron Man came barreling in and took out the enemy.

Steve walked next to him, breathing heavily. He could hear over the earpiece that Iron Man was just as out-of-breath as he was. They stayed a moment like that in silence, before Fury’s voice drifted through their earpieces.

“Agent Coulson is down. They’re here. They called it.”

Iron Man disappeared down the corridor before Steve could stop him.

***

Fury was continuing his speech, but Steve couldn’t hear him anymore. Every word that left his mouth went right over Steve’s head as he looked numbly at the signed Captain America cards. He picked one up with his fingers, blood smearing over his smiling face on the card. Next to him, Tony was staring at the table, refusing to look at the bloody cards.

“Yes, we were going to build an arsenal with the Tesseract. I never put all my chips on that number, though, because I was playing something even riskier.” Steve looked up at that. “There was an idea─Stark knows this─called the Avengers Initiative.”

Steve heard Pepper and Tony talk about it when Phil came over the Tower, but he hadn’t known exactly what it was. Tony had just said that the idea was scrapped.

Fury stood behind them now. Tony looked away, tense and ready to bolt.

“The idea was to bring together a group of remarkable people, see if they could become something more. See if they could work together when we needed them to, to fight the battles that we never could. Phil Coulson died still believing in that idea, in  _heroes_.”

But that seemed to be the last straw to Tony, as he stood up and walked away, pace fast.

“Well, it’s an old fashioned notion,” Fury finished, looking pointedly at Steve.

He swallowed hard, looking away. Something churned in his gut, making him nauseous. He took a deep breath and followed Tony out of the room, leaving Fury behind.

***

He found Tony standing overlooking the place where the cylindrical glass cage used to be. Steve had to force himself to breathe again. Tony looked utterly miserable and the only thing that went through Steve’s mind was to hold him close and protect him with everything he’s got.

Tony finally noticed him. “Did you know him?” he asked quietly.

“Yeah,” Steve replied, voice just as subdued. “He was there when I woke up. He was the one who helped me when I needed the motivation to get back with the times.”

Tony slowly started making his way over to Steve, and he imitated him. “He was an idiot,” he said.

They were only a few feet away now. “Why? For believing?” Steve asked, a little put out by Tony’s answer.

“For taking on Loki alone.”

Steve frowned. “He was doing his job.”

“He was out of his league. He should have waited. He should have─”

“Sometimes there isn’t a way out, Tony.”

Tony took a sudden intake of breath, looking away from him. “Right. How did that work for him?” He walked past Steve.

Steve turned around to face him. “Is this the first time you’ve lost a soldier?”

But that was the wrong thing to say. Tony faced him with a sharp turn. “We are  _not_ soldiers!” he shouted heatedly. He breathed in. “I’m not marching to Fury’s fife.”

“Neither am I. He’s got the same blood on his hands that Loki does, but right now we gotta put that behind us and get this done. Now Loki needs a power source, if we can put together a list─”

“He made it personal,” Tony interrupted, looking at a dent in the wall, where Phil had fallen.

Steve frowned, confused by the interruption. “That’s not the point.”

“That  _is_ the point,” he insisted. “That’s Loki’s point. He hit us all right where we live. Why?”

“To tear us apart,” Steve supplied, trying to catch up with Tony’s fast-paced brain.

“Yeah, divide and conquer is great but─ he knows he has to take us out to win, right? That’s what he wants. He wants to beat us, he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience.”

“Right,” Steve nodded. “I caught his act in Stuttgart.”

“Yeah. That’s just previews, this is─ this is opening night. And Loki, he’s a full-tail diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built to the skies with his name plastered─” He paused. His arms, which were gesturing wildly for emphasis, dropped to his sides. Steve finally caught up. “ _Son of a bitch_.”

He walked down the stairs towards Steve, grabbing his arm and forcing him to follow him out of the room.

“The Tower,” Steve breathed.

“ _Yes_ ,” Tony hissed. “The Stark Tower. I suppose you know where it is?” Tony looked behind him at Steve with a pointed look. A look that Steve has been seeing a lot lately, usually in Natasha’s face.

“Yeah,” he answered a little shakily, trying to keep up with Tony’s pace. Tony might be shorter than him by a few inches, but the man walked  _fast_.

“Then we’ll meet there.”

Steve stopped, effectively stopping Tony in his tracks with a grunt when the blond didn’t budge anymore. “ _No_ ,” Steve said, frowning at Tony. “You’re staying  _here_ , where it’s _safe_.”

Tony stared at him for a handful of seconds. “Right,” he finally said. “ _Iron Man_ will meet you there.”

Steve swallowed but nodded. The way Tony was staring at him─ _as if right through his soul_ ─ he felt like he was missing a piece of a puzzle.

***

As they approached the fight scene, his stomach dropped when he saw the beaming blue stream of light, headed straight to the sky. The tower, especially the penthouse, was ruined─the windows were broken, and there were places where the Chitauri had crashed against.

Iron Man was already engaged in combat, shooting his repulsors against the Chitauri army. Thor was there, too, fighting against Loki on the platform.

Natasha and Clint were piloting the quinjet. They took out a few of the Chitauri that Iron Man brought with him. Just as they were ready to release more fire to the army, Loki attacked them with his sceptre and they lost control. Steve grabbed a hold of the roof as Natasha and Clint held on for dear life. When the quinjet crashed to the ground, Natasha opened the ramp and they walked right into the battle.

From there on, it was all a blur of fighting; his shield flew through the air repeatedly, taking out Chitauri after Chitauri, Steve punching and throwing them around. Clint and Natasha were right beside him, firing and shooting at the enemy.

And then the most horrifying creature Steve has ever faced came towards them, following Iron Man. Somehow, the Hulk made it look fairly easy to deal with. More came down through the opened hole in the sky.

The fight continued, but they couldn’t keep this up. They would eventually get tired, and their army looked never-ending.

“Captain,” Natasha called, leaning against a car, out of breath, “none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don’t close that portal.”

Sometimes, it was as if she read minds.

“Our biggest guns couldn’t touch it.”

“Well, maybe it’s not about guns,” she said.

Steve understood immediately what she was talking about. “You wanna get up there, you’re gonna need a ride.”

She looked up as one of the Chitauri crafts flew by, her eyes glinting. “I got a ride.” She made her way over to the other side, turning towards Steve. “I could use a boost though,” she added pointedly.

“You sure about this?” he asked, already putting his shield in front of him.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be fun!” she said breathlessly, running towards Steve.

She jumped onto Steve’s shield and he boosted her up. A Chitauri craft passed by and she disappeared with it. He watched her go for a few seconds, making sure she was all right, before heading off towards the bank, as Hawkeye instructed him.

After dealing with it, making sure every haustage was safe and sound, he returned to the main battle, fighting alongside Thor.

Just then, Natasha spoke through the earpiece. “I can close it. Can anybody copy? I can shut the portal down!”

“Do it!” Steve ordered urgently.

“No, wait,” Iron Man called out. Steve couldn’t see him anywhere in the sky.

“Iron Man, these things are still coming!” he shouted, frustrated.

“I got a nuke coming in, it’s gonna blow in less than a minute,” Iron Man said, voice slightly breathless. “And I know just where to put it.”

Steve looked up at the sky again, spotting the red and gold armour glinting in the light. It was carrying a missile. Steve held his breath, eyes widening. “Iron Man, you know that’s a one way trip.”

Iron Man chuckled shakily. “Yeah, I know that all right. I─ Look, Cap. Steve.  _Grant_ ─”

“Wha─” Steve gasped, but was interrupted by Iron Man’s urgent words.

“ _Listen_ ,” he said. And  _oh god_ ─ the voice modulator was off. Steve felt his stomach drop as he instantly recognised the voice. “I wished this had gone differently. Actually, I wished a lot of things, but mostly that we had─ that we had more time. To explain and─ and talk.”

“ _Tony_ ,” Steve gasped, forcibly choking the name out of his throat.

“ _Yeah_ ,” Tony breathed shakily.

There was a commotion over the coms, both Clint and Natasha talking to each other, but Steve only had eyes and ears for Tony. Tony, who was flying ahead of them, flying a nuke right into space. From which  _he wouldn’t come back_.

“ _No_ ,” Steve said, voice rough and wavering. “No,” he repeated, “ _don’t_.”

“You know I have to do this.”

“ _No_. No, Tony,  _please_ don’t,” he said selfishly. He couldn’t lose him. He just got him.

Tony, inside the armour, choked out an unintelligible word. “Fuck, I always end up dying, don’t I? I’m sorry, for what it’s worth. Steve, I l─”

And then there was silence, the line cut off. Iron Man’s armour disappeared through the tear in the sky and there was nothing more. No more exchanged words through the earpieces, no more red and gold metal, no more  _Tony_ ─

“No,” he breathed at last, eyes wide and prickling as he looked at the hole, willing it to spit Tony out. To give him back. But it didn’t.

He didn’t even notice when the Chitauri around them fell to the ground, motionless.

“Come on, Stark,” he heard Natasha say. She waited a handful of minutes. Then, shakily, she called, “Steve.”

“No, wait,” he insisted, eyes intent on the hole. This couldn’t end like this. He refused to think that this was the end.

“ _Steve_ ─”

And then the portal was closing, slowly. Natasha must’ve closed it. All that went through his mind was a repeated series of  _no, no, no, no_ ─

He knew he was being selfish, he knew that he was jeopardising the mission, but─ but that was  _Tony_. He couldn’t lose someone he loved  _again_.

The portal closed and Steve felt his heart stop.

It felt like time had stopped until he caught a glint of red and gold in the sky and air rushed back into his lungs. He let out a shaky swear as he followed the armour fall from the sky with his eyes. It was plummeting to the ground and not slowing at all.

“He’s not slowing down,” Thor said behind him, voicing his thoughts.

Steve’s heart did a somersault to his throat. He refused to think all the implications─ he hoped that Tony had just lost control of the suit, that maybe he was unconscious but alive and well─

Thor started waving his hammer, ready to fly, but the Hulk caught Iron Man out of the sky, slid down the side of a building and crashed to the ground. He threw Iron Man to the ground none too gently.

Steve rushed over, falling to his knees next to the armour and taking his cowl off to see better, to make sure that Tony was─

And it  _really_ was Tony. Thor pulled off the faceplate, revealing Tony’s face, eyes closed and muscles slacked.

Steve touched his face gently before approaching his face─ no breathing. There was─  _Tony wasn’t breathing_. He looked at the chestplate and screwed his eyes shut, refusing to accept that the arc reactor wasn’t blue, wasn’t working─

He touched his forehead against Tony’s, breath shallow.

Behind them, Hulk suddenly roared and Steve yelped as Tony’s forehead crashed with his. Tony was cursing─

“ _Tony,_ ” Steve breathed, drinking him in with his eyes, alive and─ not really well, but definitely  _alive_.

Tony was looking around, one gauntleted hand holding his forehead. His face was screwed up in pain and confusion. “What the hell? What just happened? Did I just headbutt you?”

“Yeah,” Steve replied, unable to stop himself from touching Tony’s face again. “We won.”

Tony closed his eyes momentarily, groaning. “Alright. Good job, guys. Let’s just not come in tomorrow. Let’s just take a day.” Steve was shaking his head, a giddy feeling running through his body. Tony opened his eyes and looked directly at Steve. “We’re gonna talk about this, aren’t we?” he whispered.

Steve nodded, touching his forehead against Tony’s again. “Yeah,” he said shakily. “Yeah, we are.”

Tony groaned again. “Can it─ can it be over shawarma? You ever tried shawarma? There’s a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don’t know what it is, but I wanna try it.”

Steve chuckled. “Yeah, okay.” And then he kissed him slowly, praying that this wasn’t the last one.

When they parted again, Tony sighed and looked Steve over. “God, you look so hot right now,” he whispered.

“All right, Stark’s back to himself, he’s good,” Natasha said over the earpiece.

Steve felt his face heat up as he remembered that everyone else was either watching them or hearing them.

“ _You_ ,” Tony replied, tone accusatory. “We’re also going to have a long talk!”

“Can’t wait,” she said sarcastically, but Steve could hear relief in her voice.

Clint piped up through the coms. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me  _Iron Man_ was  _Stark_! What is the meaning of friendship nowadays?!”

Their bickering was interrupted by Thor’s grave tone. “We’re not finished yet.”

Tony looked at him with his big hopeful eyes. “And then shawarma after?”

**Author's Note:**

> the ending is deliberately left open for interpretation


End file.
